APA-Niamey (Niger) Roundly condemned by the international community over last Wednesday’s coup on Wednesday, the new junta in Niger have won the backing of the military regimes in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso.
Abuja has given assurances that it is ready to lead a military invasion of Niger to reverse the coup which toppled Mohamed Bazoum last week.
In a joint statement issued on Monday, July 31, Bamako and Ouagadougou expressed their “fraternal solidarity and that of the peoples of Burkina Faso and Mali with the brotherly people of Niger, who have responsibly decided to take their destiny into their own hands and to assume their full sovereignty before history.”
Heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in an extraordinary session on Sunday, July 30, imposed severe economic and financial sanctions on Niger, following the seizure of power by General Abdourahamane Tchiani, until then head of the presidential guard.
Restrictive measures were also taken against the perpetrators of the coup against President Mohamed Bazoum elected in April 2021 at the end of Mahamadou Issoufou’s two terms in office.
Burkina Faso and Mali denounce “the persistence of these regional organisations in imposing sanctions that aggravate the suffering of the people and jeopardise the spirit of pan-Africanism.”
The two Ecowas member countries refuse “to apply these illegal, illegitimate and inhumane measures against the people and authorities of Niger.”
In a show of solidarity with the new rulers in Niamey, Bamako and Ouagadougou, who have also been under military rule since August 2020 and January 2022, following coups against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Roch Christian Kaboré, respectively, warn ”that any military intervention against Niger would be tantamount to a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali.”
At their July 30 meeting, West African leaders pledged to “take all measures necessary to ensure the restoration of constitutional order” in Niger if their demands are not met within one week.
“Such measures may include the use of force,” they warned, calling for an immediate meeting of Ecowas defense chiefs.
But according to the Malian and Burkinabe authorities, “any military intervention against Niger would lead to the withdrawal” of their countries from Ecowas “as well as the adoption of self-defense measures in support of the armed forces and people of Niger.”
On the second day of the Russia-Africa summit held in St. Petersburg from July 27 to 29, President Ibrahim Traoré asked President Putin to be ready to support Niger in the event of sanctions imposed by the international community.
The young captain, who has ruled Burkina since September 2022 after overthrowing Lieutenant Colonel Paul Henri Damiba, who had himself toppled President Kaboré eight months earlier, stressed that his country was being blamed for what had happened in Niger.
At the same time, in Nigeria, the Chief of Army Staff, General Christopher Musa, speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony organised by President Ahmad Bola Tinubu to decorate the chiefs of defense and security forces, declared that Nigerian troops were ready to intervene in Niger if ordered.
He said he was sure of “success” if a military intervention were to be decided by the Ecowas authorities, who for the time being prefer dialogue.
To this end, Chad junta head, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, who was invited to the summit on July 30, was appointed Ecowas mediator in the Niger crisis.
On the same day, Déby Itno visited Chad’s neighbour to meet with junta leaders, the deposed president, and his predecessor.
He called for a peaceful solution of the crisis in Niger and is expected to report to Ecowas heads of state on the results of his trip t Niamey.
On the other hand, the atmosphere in this Sahelian country is more than a little unhealthy.
While the arrest and detention of members of Mr. Bazoum’s government continues, France announced on Tuesday August 1st that it had begun the evacuation by air of its nationals and European citizens who wish to leave Niger.
AC/odl/lb/as/APA