Several thousand supporters of the new military power in Niger gathered on Friday, August 11, near the French base in Niamey, following the green light from West African leaders for the use of force to allow the overthrown president, Mohamed Bazoum, to regain power. An ECOWAS meeting, scheduled for Saturday August 12, has also been postponed.
The meeting, originally scheduled for Saturday in Accra, has been postponed for “technical reasons”, according to regional military sources, and no new date has been released. It was to take place in order to convey to the leadership of the organization “the best options” for their decision to activate and deploy its “standby force”.
“Down with France, down with ECOWAS”, chanted the demonstrators during a calm rally, the day after the summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which authorized, on Thursday , in Abuja, a possible military intervention to restore constitutional order. They waved Russian and Nigerien flags and shouted their support for the military in power, in particular their leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani.
“We’re going to get the French out!” ECOWAS is not independent, it is a manipulation of France, there is an outside influence,” said student union member Aziz Rabeh Ali.
The military took France, a former colonial power, as their preferred target, accusing it of being behind the scenes at the origin of ECOWAS’s decision to deploy its “standby force” in Niger. France, an ally of Niger before the coup and unwavering support of the overthrown president, is deploying some 1,500 men engaged with the Nigerien army in the fight against jihadist groups in the Sahel.
The timetable and terms of a possible West African military intervention in Niger have not been disclosed. According to Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, whose country will contribute to this “standby force”, it should be able to intervene “as soon as possible”.
Meanwhile, more than two weeks after the coup that overthrew him on July 26, fears are growing over the fate of President Mohamed Bazoum, held prisoner with his wife and son in “inhumane” conditions. according to the UN.
US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said he was “dismayed” on Friday by the military’s refusal to release Mr. Bazoum’s family as a “sign of goodwill”.
And the prospect of an armed intervention by ECOWAS raises fears for his safety: according to one of his relatives, the new masters of Niamey have brandished “the threat” to attack him if this intervention takes place.
“The intervention is going to be risky, he is aware of it, he considers that we need a return to constitutional order, with or without him”, because “the rule of law is more important than his person”, assured to AFP one of his advisers.
In Abuja, ECOWAS, however, reaffirmed its hope for a resolution through diplomatic channels: the President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, who holds the rotating presidency of the organization, said he hoped “to reach a peaceful resolution”, a recourse to force being considered only as a “last resort”.
The ECOWAS decisions received “full support” from France, as well as the United States.
These two countries had made Niger a pivot of their system in the fight against the armed jihadists who are sowing death in a destabilized Sahel.
The threat of intervention had been brandished for the first time on July 30 by West African leaders who had issued a seven-day ultimatum to the soldiers in Niamey to restore President Bazoum, under penalty of using “force”, not followed. of effect.
Since then, the new masters of Niger have shown themselves to be intransigent. They refused on Tuesday to host a joint delegation from ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and the UN.
Neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by soldiers, showed their solidarity with Niamey.
According to an adviser to the Malian presidency on condition of anonymity, one of the strong men of the Nigerian regime, General Salifou Mody, the new Minister of Defense, made a short visit to Mali on Friday.
