Niger
Warning against military intervention in Niger. Junta-led Burkina Faso and Mali on Monday warned that any military intervention in Niger to restore deposed President Mohamed Bazoum would be considered a “declaration of war against their two countries.
The ultimatum from Niger’s military-ruled neighbors came a day after West African leaders threatened to use “force” to restore the democratically elected Bazoum and imposed financial sanctions on the putschists.
In a joint statement, the governments of Burkina Faso and Mali warned that “any military intervention against Niger would be tantamount to a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali”.
They said the “disastrous consequences of a military intervention in Niger… could destabilise the entire region”.
The two also stated that they “refuse to apply” the “illegal, illegitimate, and inhumane sanctions imposed on the people and government of Niger.”
At an emergency summit on Sunday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) demanded that Bazoum be reinstated within a week, failing which it would take “all measures” to restore constitutional order.
“Such measures may include the use of force for this effect,” it said in a statement.
The bloc also slapped financial sanctions on the junta leaders and the country, freezing “all commercial and financial transactions” between member states and Niger, one of the world’s poorest nations, which often ranks last on the UN’s Human Development Index.
Pressure to push the perpetrators of the July 26 coup to quickly restore constitutional order is building from Western and African partners in Niger, a country considered essential in the fight against jihadist groups that have ravaged parts of the Sahel region for years.
Former colonial power France and the United States have between them deployed 2,600 soldiers in Niger to help battle the jihadists.
Extremely hazardous
The Niger junta accused France on Monday of attempting to “intervene militarily” to restore Bazoum, which French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna denied.
“It’s wrong,” Colonna told France’s BFM news channel of the allegation, adding it was still “possible” to return the president to power.
“And it’s necessary, because destabilisation is perilous for Niger and its neighbours,” she said Monday evening.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday vowed “immediate and uncompromising” action if French citizens or interests were attacked, after thousands rallied outside the French embassy in Niamey. Those who attempted to enter the compound were dispersed by tear gas.
Colonna said the demonstration had been “organised, not spontaneous, violent, extremely dangerous, with Molotov cocktails, Russian flags appeared, anti-French slogans (that were) an exact copy of what you can hear elsewhere”.
Russia has called for the swift return of “the rule of law” and “restraint from all parties” in Niger.
Macron has spoken to Bazoum several times as well as to regional leaders, the presidential palace in Paris said.
Bazoum — a Western ally whose election just over two years ago marked Niger’s first peaceful transition of power since independence from France in 1960 — was toppled on July 26 by the elite Presidential Guard.
Guards chief General Abdourahamane Tiani declared himself leader — but his claim has been rejected internationally and ECOWAS has given him a week to hand back power.
Bazoum is one of a dwindling group of elected presidents and pro-Western leaders in the Sahel, where since 2020 a jihadist insurgency has also triggered coups in Mali and Burkina Faso.
After thousands demonstrated outside the French embassy in Niamey on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron threatened “immediate and uncompromising” action if French citizens or interests were targeted. Those who attempted to enter the compound were dispersed by tear gas.
According to Colonna, the protest was “organized, not spontaneous, violent, extremely dangerous, with Molotov cocktails, Russian flags appeared, anti-French slogans (that were) an exact copy of what you can hear elsewhere.”
Russia has urged Niger to restore “the rule of law” and “restraint from all parties” as soon as possible.
Macron has spoken with Bazoum as well as regional leaders multiple times, according to the presidential palace in Paris.
Terrorists and coups
Following neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, landlocked Niger became the third Sahel country in less than three years to be jolted by a military coup.
A jihadist insurgency strained fragile regimes, fueled military rage, and wreaked economic havoc on some of the world’s poorest countries in all three countries.
Pro-Russian, anti-French demonstrations have accompanied the removal of elected presidents.
Protesters in support of the junta claim that France, the country’s traditional friend, has failed to protect them against Islamists, but Russia would be a more powerful ally.
A 2020 putsch in Mali resulted in a spat with France, which withdrew its soldiers last year as the junta came in Russian paramilitaries.
France also left Burkina Faso after two coups last year installed a nationalist regime.
The withdrawals prompted France to reconfigure its decade-long anti-jihadist strategy in the Sahel, concentrating on Niger, where it fields 1,500 troops with a major air base near Niamey.
The latest coup, according to the putschists, was a response to “the degradation of the security situation” linked to the jihadist conflict, as well as corruption and economic woes.
International critics have ratcheted up pressure, targeting trade and development aid.
All commercial and financial activities have been halted by ECOWAS, while France, the European Union, and the United States have either shut off or threatened to cut off support. Humanitarian operations by the UN have also been halted.
Niger has seen four coups since independence and numerous other attempts, including two previously against the 63-year-old Bazoum.
AFP