Thousands of supporters of the military regime in Niger demonstrated on Friday, August 11, near the French base in Niamey, after the green light given by West African leaders for the use of force to restore President Mohamed Bazoum, but the meeting of chiefs of staff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) scheduled for Saturday has been postponed indefinitely.
The meeting, originally scheduled for Saturday in Accra, was postponed for “technical reasons”, according to regional military sources, and no date was disclosed. It was to take place in order to convey to the leaders of the organization “the best options” for their decision to activate and deploy its “standby force”.
“Down with France, down with ECOWAS,” protesters chanted at a peaceful rally the day after an ECOWAS summit that authorized possible military intervention to restore peace. constitutional order. They waved Russian and Nigerien flags and shouted their support for the soldiers who took power, in particular their leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani.
“We’re going to get the French out!” ECOWAS is not independent, it is a manipulation of France, there is an outside influence,” said Aziz Rabeh Ali, a member of a student union supporting the military regime.
Since taking power, the military have taken France, a former colonial power, as their favorite target, accusing it of being behind the scenes at the origin of the decision of ECOWAS to intervene militarily. 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 the jihadist groups which undermine a large part of the Sahel.
According to Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, whose country will contribute the force, it should be able to intervene “as soon as possible”.
At the same time, more than two weeks after the coup that overthrew him on July 26, fears were growing about the conditions of detention and the fate reserved for President Mohamed Bazoum, a prisoner with his family ever since. The European Union (EU), the African Union (AU) and the UN denounced “the deterioration of the conditions of detention” of the president, held prisoner with his wife and son, “inhuman” according to the UN.
And the prospect of a military 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 it took 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 one of his advisers.
In Abuja, however, ECOWAS reaffirmed its hope for a resolution through diplomatic channels: Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who holds the rotating presidency of ECOWAS, 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 of Niamey to restore President Bazoum, under penalty of using “force”, not followed. of effect. Since then, the new masters of Niger have been intransigent by refusing on Tuesday to welcome a joint delegation from ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and the UN.
Just before the Abuja summit, they also announced the formation of a new government led by a civilian prime minister, which met for the first time on Friday.
Many heads of companies and public administrations have also been dismissed.
Not all West African countries are hostile to Niger’s new power: neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by the military, have shown their solidarity with Niamey. According to an adviser to the Malian presidency on condition of anonymity, one of the strong men of the Nigerien junta, General Salifou Mody, the new Minister of Defense, made a short visit to Mali on Friday.
On the same day, Cape Verde, a member of ECOWAS, also declared its opposition to a military intervention by the organization. “We must all work for the restoration of constitutional order in Niger, but in no case through military intervention or armed conflict at this time,” said the country’s President José Maria Neves.
And Russia, which is taking advantage of the region’s growing feelings against France, spoke out again on Friday against any armed intervention in Niger, which “could lead to a prolonged confrontation in this African country as well as to a strong destabilization of the situation in the entire Sahara and Sahel region”.
