2023-07-30 12:30:59
Thousands of people demonstrate in front of the French Embassy on Sunday July 30 in Niamey, Niger. SAM MEDNICK / AP
Thousands of people demonstrated on Sunday, July 30, in front of the French Embassy in Niamey, some of them insisting on entering, noted a journalist from Agence France-Presse, during a rally in support of the military putschists who overthrew the elected president Mohamed Bazoum in Niger.
Others ripped off the plaque displaying “French Embassy in Niger”before trampling it on the tarmac and replacing it with Russian and Nigerian flags. “Long live Putin”, ” long live Russia “, “Down with France”shout protesters.
This gathering comes as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is holding an extraordinary summit on Sunday, July 30, to take stock of the situation in Niger, in the context of the military coup. The Nigerian president, at the head of the West African bloc, Bola Tinubu, had condemned the putsch on Wednesday, and promised that the organization and the international community “would do anything to defend democracy” and his “rooting” in the sub-region.
ECOWAS, and its fifteen members, can pronounce sanctions against Niger, one of its members, and follow in the footsteps of the European Union (EU) and France, which have decided to suspend their budgetary aid, and even security on the side of the European institution, not recognizing the “authorities” from the coup.
An “imminent intervention” according to the junta
The junta in Niger, which overthrew the elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, denounced a threat of“imminent military intervention in Niamey” even before the West African summit was held.
“The objective of this meeting is the validation of a plan of aggression against Niger, through an imminent military intervention in Niamey in collaboration with African countries not members of the organization and certain Western countries”, according to a statement read by a member of the juntaAmadou Abdramane, on national television. “We will once again remind ECOWAS or any other adventurer of our firm determination to defend our homeland”he added.
The putschists had already warned about “the consequences that will flow from any foreign military intervention”evoking “belligerent attitude” d’“former dignitaries holed up in chancelleries in collaboration with them”.
In the wake of France and the EU
Since the seizure of power in Niamey, the pressure is increasing every day on the new proclaimed strong man of the country, the putschist general Abdourahamane Tiani, head of the presidential guard of Niger, at the origin of the fall of Mr. Bazoum , sequestered for four days.
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The putsch was strongly condemned by Niger’s Western partners, several African countries and the UN, who demanded the release of the elected president. The entourage of the latter denounced “a coup d’etat for personal convenience”claiming that Mr. Bazoum ” is fine “ despite his imprisonment. In Nairobi, the Kenyan President, William Ruto, estimated that with this coup “Africa has suffered a serious setback in its democratic progress”. The deposed president’s energy minister, Ibrahim Yacouba, for his part, invited ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) to fight for “release without delay” of Mr. Bazoum and the resumption of his duties.
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In Niger, General Tiani, a new leader with fragile power
For its part, France announced on Saturday the suspension of its public aid for Niger, which amounted to 120 million euros in 2022. As for the AU, it issued an ultimatum on Friday to fifteen days to the military to restore “constitutional authority”.
The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken, for his part, assured Mr. Bazoum of “unwavering support” of Washington, assuring that the coup d’etat jeopardized the ” partnership “ between the United States and Niger. He also spoke with Mr. Tinubu on Sunday, expressing his “deep concern” while greeting the « leadership » and the « efforts » of the Nigerian President for “restoring constitutional order in Niger”reported Matthew Miller, spokesman for the State Department.
Pivot against jihadism
Located in the heart of the Sahel, Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, a vast desert territory with a population of some 20 million inhabitants, with one of the highest demographic growth rates on the planet. Rich in uranium, Niger has had a history of coups since the independence of this former French colony in 1960. The region, too, is unstable, the country being the third to experience a coup since 2020 after the arrival of the military in Mali and Burkina Faso.
Read also: Niger: “The project to overthrow Mohamed Bazoum has existed for a long time within the army”
Niamey is also the last ally with which France maintains a partnership known as « combat » against the jihadists, in this region undermined by instability, precariousness and attacks. Paris currently has some 1,500 military personnel in Niger, who have until now operated in conjunction with the local army.
The M62 civil movement, which had already protested against the French army’s Barkhane operation in the Sahel and the Sahara, called for demonstrations on Sunday despite the ban on the gathering. General Tiani, proclaimed head of state by his peers, justified Wednesday’s coup by “the deterioration of the security situation”. While qualifying as“appreciable” the support of “external partners” of Niger – France and the United States (1100 soldiers) being among the main ones – he asked them to “to trust [à ses] Defense and Security Forces (FDS) ».
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