2023-08-07 17:53:39
The ultimatum given to the Nigerien soldiers to reinstall President Mohamed Bazoum in power was not followed up in Niamey this Sunday, August 6, 2023. The junta which deposed the Nigerien president is rather on a war footing now while ECOWAS Heads of State plan to meet again in an extraordinary summit on August 10.
This is the status quo in Niger despite the threats of ECOWAS military intervention. The National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP), thethe junta that overthrew Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, remained straight in her boots. It did not release and reinstall the ousted president as demanded by ECOWAS.
Airspace closure
On the side of the sub-regional organization, the threat of military intervention to restore constitutional order has not yet been carried out. Friday, a meeting, in Abuja, of the chiefs of staff of the member countries decided on the contours of the intervention. Benin, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria have already indicated their commitment to provide men. But the first blockage in Nigeria, the country which chairs ECOWAS, the Senate refused to authorize President Tinubu to engage the army against Niger.
The de facto authorities of Niger, who are in the sights of ECOWAS, have decided to close the country’s airspace, saying they are ready to respond to any attack. “Faced with the threat of intervention which is becoming clearer from neighboring countries, Niger’s airspace is closed from this day on Sunday (…) until further notice (…). Any attempt to violate the airspace [entraînera] an energetic and instantaneous response”, says a statement from the junta issued Sunday evening.
During the day, it was at the Niamey stadium that the military in power had displayed their anti-ECOWAS position during a meeting in support of their coup d’etat which mobilized thousands of people.
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