According to regional military sources, West African countries have postponed a key meeting scheduled for Saturday August 12 in Accra on the deployment of an intervention force to restore Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum toppled by a coup. Status July 26. Chiefs of Staff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were to brief their leaders on “best options” to follow through on their decision to activate and deploy its “force in waiting”.
This meeting was to be held two days after an ECOWAS summit in Abuja which authorized a possible military intervention to restore constitutional order in Niger. The timetable and terms of a possible West African military intervention have not been disclosed. But according to Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, whose country will contribute to this “standby force”, it should be able to happen “as soon as possible”. 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 use of force only being considered as a “last resort”.
At the same time, a rally near the French base in Niamey on Friday brought together thousands of supporters of the soldiers who took power. “Down with France!” Down with ECOWAS! “, chanted the demonstrators calmly. They waved Russian and Nigerien flags and shouted their support for the military in power, in particular their leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani.
The Nigerien soldiers have taken France, a former colonial power, as their preferred target, accusing it of being behind the ECOWAS decision. France, an ally of Niger before the coup and unwavering support of the overthrown president, has 1,500 men engaged with the Nigerien army in the fight against jihadist groups in the Sahel.
More than two weeks after the coup that overthrew him on July 26, concerns are growing for 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”.
New government
The ECOWAS decisions received “full support” from France, as well as from 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. Neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by soldiers, showed their solidarity with Niamey.
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 Nigerien military have been intransigent. They refused on Tuesday to host a joint delegation from ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and the UN. They also announced the formation of a new government led by a civilian prime minister, which met for the first time on Friday.