Niger: ECOWAS ultimatum expired, airspace closed "in the face of the threat of intervention"

August 6, 2023

Niger closed its airspace on Sunday “in the face of the threat of intervention which is becoming clearer”, shortly before the end of a West African ultimatum urging the soldiers who took power in Niamey to restore the ousted president Mohamed Bazoum under penalty use of “force”.

“Faced with the threat of intervention which is becoming clearer from neighboring countries, Niger’s airspace is closed from this day on Sunday (…) until further notice”, indicates Sunday evening a press release from the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP, which took power).

The press release was published shortly before the end of the ultimatum – set on July 30 by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the soldiers who took power to restore President Bazoum to his functions, under penalty of armed intervention – which expired at midnight Niamey time (23:00 GMT).

The CNSP specifies that “any attempt to violate the airspace” will lead to “an energetic and instantaneous response”.

He also claims that a “pre-deployment for the preparation of the intervention has been made in two Central African countries”, without specifying which ones. “Any state involved will be considered co-belligerent,” he adds.

Niger’s land and air borders with five neighboring countries were reopened on August 2, nearly a week after they were closed during the July 26 coup that overthrew Mohamed Bazoum.

These countries were Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali and Chad.

In the afternoon, some 30,000 coup supporters, many waving flags of Niger, Burkina Faso and Russia, engaged in a show of force in Niger’s largest stadium in Niamey.

“Today is the day of our true independence!” shouted a young man, the crowd around him shouting “Down with France, down with ECOWAS!”, the Economic Community of African States of the West, which threatened to intervene militarily.

Members of the CNSP arrived triumphantly at the stadium in a convoy of pick-ups, cheered and surrounded by a feverish crowd, AFP journalists noted.

General Mohamed Toumba, number three in the CNSP, took the floor to denounce those “who lurk in the shadows” and who “are plotting subversion” against “Niger’s march forward”. “We are aware of their Machiavellian plan,” he said.

The contours of the force for a possible military intervention were “defined” on Friday by the ECOWAS chiefs of staff.

The coup was condemned by all of Niger’s Western and African partners, but Niger’s military received support from their counterparts in Mali and Burkina Faso – who also came to power through putsches in 2020 and 2022 and they too are facing jihadist violence – who say an intervention in Niger would be a “declaration of war” on both their countries.

The prospect of a West African military intervention arouses concern and criticism.

On Saturday, senators from Nigeria, a heavyweight in ECOWAS with its 215 million inhabitants and which shares a 1,500 km border with Niger, called on President Bola Tinubu to “strengthen the political and diplomatic option”.

Saturday evening Algeria, a major player in the Sahel which shares nearly 1,000 km of border with Niger, also expressed reservations.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on public television that an intervention would be “a direct threat” to his country. “There will be no solution without us” Algeria, he added, fearing that “the whole Sahel will go up in flames” in the event of an intervention.

“We must prevent the catastrophic scenario of a war,” warned a group of researchers, specialists in the Sahel, in a column published Saturday evening in the French daily Liberation.

“One more war in the Sahel will have only one winner: the jihadist movements which for years have been building their territorial expansion on the bankruptcy of states”, they write.

Many residents of the capital Niamey – stronghold of the opposition to the ousted president – hoped Sunday not to have to live a military intervention.

“If ECOWAS intervenes, it will make the situation even worse. But people are ready and the population will support the new leaders, because we want change,” says Jackou, a textile trader.

ECOWAS and Western countries are calling for a return to constitutional order and the release of President Bazoum, held prisoner since the coup.

“We condemn the coup attempt in Niger which constitutes a serious threat to peace and security in the sub-region,” said Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara on Sunday evening.

He deemed it “essential” to “restore constitutional order” and to “allow the democratically elected President Bazoum to exercise his functions freely”.

A position identical to that of France, a former colonial power in the region whose relations with the perpetrators of the coup in Niger have deteriorated in recent days.

The soldiers denounced military and security cooperation agreements with Paris, which deploys 1,500 soldiers in Niger for the fight against terrorism, a measure ignored by Paris.