West African nations were to determine on Friday a potential intervention if Niger’s coup is not overturned by the weekend after mediation failed in a crisis troubling global powers.
Thousands of anti-sanctions protestors gather in support of the putschist soldiers in the capital Niamey, Niger August 3, 2023.Thousands of anti-sanctions protestors gather in support of the putschist soldiers in the capital Niamey, Niger August 3, 2023.Niger’s coup is not overturnedThe Economic Community of West African States has taken a hard stance on last week’s toppling of President Mohamed Bazoum: the seventh coup in West and Central Africa since 2020.
The new military junta, led by 59-year-old presidential guard commander Abdourahamane Tiani, this week revoked military cooperation pacts with former colonial power France, as neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso did after their coups. Niger’s armed forces chief acknowledged in January that Bazoum’s cooperation with Western powers had improved security in Niger compared with Burkina Faso and Mali. But the coup could reshape the region’s fight against Islamist militants.Detained at the presidential residence in Niger’s capital Niamey, Bazoum, a 63-year-old philosophy graduate elected in 2021, said in his first remarks since the coup that he was a hostage and in need of US and international help.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner which has forces in Mali and the Central African Republic, last week said his forces were available to restore order in Niger. “After the meeting that ended at midnight, they said they heard all we have said and that they will get back to us. We left Niamey immediately.”
The Niger junta has cited persistent insecurity as the main justification for seizing power, even though data on attacks shows security has actually been improving.
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