2023-08-08 05:01:00
Tension remains in Niger after the coup military junta accused the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) of planning a war against the country. The regional bloc called a new meeting next Thursday after the expiration of the ultimatum it gave the coup leaders with the threat of military action. As of Monday night, no troops had been officially deployed on the ground. According to the United States, the diplomatic path to reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum “remains open.”
This Monday, ECOWAS convened an extraordinary meeting of the bloc’s heads of state in Abuja, Nigeria, after the ultimatum given to the Nigerian junta to restore constitutional order expired on Sunday. “The ECOWAS leaders will assess and discuss the political situation and recent developments in Niger,” the regional bloc said in a statement.
The group of African countries demands that President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been detained since the coup on July 26, be restored to power. On July 30, ECOWAS called on the Nigerien military to restore the democratically elected president and warned that they would not rule out the use of force to achieve it. According to a source close to the regional group, no military intervention is planned for the moment.
The coup was condemned by other African countries, as well as by France and the United States, which have deployed 1,500 and 1,100 soldiers respectively in Niger to fight jihadist organizations in the region. Mali and Burkina Faso, suspended from ECOWAS by coups that put the military in power in 2021 and 2022 respectively, instead expressed their support for the government that ousted Bazoum in Niger and sent a joint official delegation to Niamey.
airspace closure
Shortly before the ECOWAS ultimatum expired, the Nigerian military announced the closure of airspace “until further notice” in the face of a foreign “threat of intervention”. The National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP), the body of the military in power in Niger, indicated that it “is closely following the preparations for this war by proxy” and in turn accused “a foreign power” of preparing ” aggression” against Niger in coordination with ECOWAS.
Sources close to the junta explained that the communiqué referred to France, the former colonial power of Niger that has important economic interests in the African country and maintains 1,500 French soldiers deployed within the framework of the agreements signed in the past with Niamey regarding the fight against terrorism.
The coup leaders, who announced the dismissal of Niger’s ambassadors to France, the United States, Nigeria and Togo, last week accused Paris of “wanting to intervene militarily” in the African country to free the deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, who is held in the presidential palace since July 26, the day the military coup was perpetrated. After the last announcements made by the coup leaders on Sunday at the last minute, the French airline Air France suspended flights to Niamey “until further notice” and canceled flights to Mali and Burkina Faso until next Friday.
Support for the diplomatic channel
The senators from Nigeria, ECOWAS heavyweight, called for “strengthening the political and diplomatic option.” Algeria, which is not a member of ECOWAS but shares almost a thousand kilometers of border with Niger, also expressed reservations. The Italian government on Monday urged ECOWAS to extend the ultimatum and try to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis, as did Germany, which believes diplomatic efforts are just beginning.
The US government believes that there is still an opportunity for dialogue in Niger. “We believe that the military should withdraw and allow the president to resume his work,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller at a press conference on Monday. In turn, Miller stressed that the US embassy in the country remains “open and operational”, despite the fact that the government ordered the withdrawal of non-essential personnel last Wednesday.
In a statement issued Monday in New York, UN Secretary General António Guterres did not explicitly refer to the idea of a military intervention, but he did reiterate his “full support for ECOWAS’ current mediation efforts.” Guterres specified that his special representative for the Sahel, Leonardo Santos Simão, is now in Abuja, on a “good offices” task to support regional actors.
Calm in Niamey
Niamey, the capital of Niger, woke up calm on Monday after a concentration of some 30,000 supporters of the military in the largest stadium in the country this Sunday. The crowd waved flags of Niger, neighboring Burkina Faso and Russia, booed France and ECOWAS and cheered for CNSP members who took part in the event.
France, increasingly discredited by supporters of the military that seized power in Niger, Mali and Burkina, this weekend stressed its support for ECOWAS efforts to derail the Nigerian coup attempt. The former colonial power suspended on Sunday “until further notice” all its “development aid and budget support actions” in Burkina Faso.
Niger was one of the West’s last allies in a Sahel ravaged by jihadist violence. It became the fourth country in West Africa to be led by a military junta, after Mali, Guinea-Conakry and Burkina Faso, which also saw coups between 2020 and 2022.
#African #diplomacy #announced #meeting #crisis #Niger #community #West #African #States #meet #Thursday #Nigeria