Nigeriens were preparing for a war against countries in the region that were threatening invasion, three weeks after mutinous soldiers overthrew the elected president at the polls.
Some residents in the capital, Niamey, were calling for a massive recruitment of volunteers to assist the army in the face of a growing threat from the regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States, which says it will use military force if the junta does not reinstate the ousted president. , Mohamez Bazoum. ECOWAS has activated a “reserve force” to restore peace in Niger, after the junta ignored a deadline to reinstate and release Bazoum.
The initiative led by a group of Niamey residents aimed to recruit tens of thousands of volunteers from across the country for the Niger Defense Volunteers. The goal is to fight, assist with medical care, and provide logistical, technical and engineering support, among other things, should the junta need help, Amsarou Bako, one of the group’s founders, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
“It is an eventuality. We must be ready when it happens,” he said. The recruitment campaign would begin on Saturday in the capital and in cities where the invading forces could enter, for example near the borders with Nigeria and Benin, two countries that have said they would participate in the intervention. Anyone over the age of 18 can sign up and the list of volunteers will be given to the board to call people if necessary, Bako said. The board is not involved in the campaign but is aware of the initiative, he added.
Regional tension has been rising despite comments from Niger and ECOWAS that they are open to resolving the crisis peacefully. The junta said last week it was open to dialogue with ECOWAS after rejecting the bloc’s multiple efforts to open talks, but soon after accused Bazoum of “high treason” and withdrew its ambassador from neighboring Côte d’Ivoire.
ECOWAS defense chiefs were scheduled to meet this week for the first time since the bloc announced the deployment of its “reserve” force. It was unclear when or even if the force would invade, but the operation could involve several thousand troops and have devastating consequences, according to conflict experts.
“A military intervention with no end in sight risks unleashing a regional war, with catastrophic consequences for the vast Sahel, already plagued by insecurity, displacement and poverty,” said Mucahid Durmaz, a senior analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, a global venture company.
Niger was considered one of the last democratic countries in the Sahel, south of the Sahara desert, and a partner of Western countries in the fight against growing jihadist violence associated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group. France, the former colonial metropolis, and the United States have some 2,500 soldiers in the region training the Nigerien army and, in the case of France, conducting joint operations.
France and the United States have halted military operations since the coup, and jihadist attacks have increased. At least 17 soldiers were killed and nearly two dozen wounded in an ambush by extremists in the Tillaberi region, the Defense Ministry said on state television. The attack happened on Tuesday afternoon when a military detachment was traveling between the towns of Boni and Torodi. The wounded were evacuated to Niamey.
There have been numerous coups d’état in the region and the international community has seen the one in Niger as the straw that broke the camel’s back. But analysts believe the longer the pulse goes, the less likely military intervention becomes as the junta consolidates its power, likely forcing the international community to come to terms with the situation.
A Western official who was not authorized to brief the media said a diplomatic solution was likely, and the question was how much military pressure it would take to achieve it.
As Western and regional countries framed their response to the crisis, many Nigeriens were convinced they would soon be invaded.
Details of Niger’s volunteer force were still scant, but similar initiatives in neighboring countries have produced mixed results. Volunteers recruited in Burkina Faso to help the army fight a jihadist insurgency have been accused by rights groups and local communities of committing atrocities against civilians.
Bako, one of the leaders of the group organizing the Nigerien volunteers, said his situation was different.
The volunteers in Burkina Faso, he said, are fighting against compatriots “who took up arms against their own brothers (…) The difference with us is that our people will fight against an intrusion,” he said.
