Will the crisis in Niger be resolved diplomatically? The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been working for several weeks to restore democratic order. This Saturday afternoon, the West African delegation arrived in Niamey and was able to meet the overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum, held prisoner since the July 26 coup, an ECOWAS source said.
The meeting was confirmed by a journalist from the Nigerian news agency, present at the presidential palace on Saturday afternoon when the delegation visited. Despite critical detention conditions, which worry the international community, Mohamed Bazoum “has good morale”, assured this source, which specifies that he “still does not” have electricity.
This delegation, led by former Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar, was welcomed at Niamey airport by the Prime Minister appointed by the military who came to power, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine. In an interview with the New York Times, the latter assured Friday evening that “nothing will happen” to Mohamed Bazoum.
She also met with some military officials who took power on July 26, detailed the ECOWAS source, without specifying whether the West African emissaries had exchanged with Niger’s new strongman, General Abdourahamane Tiani.
This diplomatic mediation comes the day after an announcement by the West African organization which said it was ready to use force to restore constitutional order in Niger.
On Friday, the commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the regional organization, Abdel-Fatau Musah announced that this mission was intended to “continue to follow the peaceful path to restore constitutional order”. “We are ready to intervene as soon as the order is given. The day of the intervention has also been fixed,” he also said, after a two-day meeting of West African chiefs of staff in Accra. According to him, at this meeting were agreed “the strategic objectives, the necessary equipment and the commitment of the Member States” for this possible intervention.
This military option has been brandished by ECOWAS for several weeks. On August 10, West African leaders ordered the deployment of a “standby force”, the outlines of which were drawn in Accra on Friday. Neither the terms nor a possible timetable have however been made public.
Another diplomatic initiative took place on Friday: the new Prime Minister met with a UN delegation led by Leonardo Santos Simão, the Secretary General’s Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel. At the end of the meeting, he wished that “the country returns as quickly as possible to normality and constitutional legality”. “We are convinced that this is always possible through dialogue,” he added.
In Niamey, the new military regime claimed that armed intervention would be an “illegal and senseless aggression”.
Saturday morning, thousands of volunteers gathered near the Seyni Kountché stadium in the city center of the capital, responding to a call from several organizations to be registered on lists as civilian auxiliaries potentially mobilized in support armed forces, noted AFP journalists.
On Saturday, the United States, an important partner of Niger in the anti-jihadist fight, indicated that a new ambassador was installed in Niamey. Kathleen FitzGibbon will not, however, officially present her mission letter to the new authorities in place, said Washington, which does not recognize them.
Another partner of Niger, France, which deploys some 1,500 soldiers, was asked in the hours following the coup to provide support for a possible intervention by the Nigerien army to free Mohamed Bazoum, he said. -we learned on Saturday from a source close to the file. “But the loyalists switched sides and joined the putschists. The conditions were therefore not met to satisfy this request for support, “said this source.
Niger has been regularly bereaved by bloody jihadist attacks for several years. On Tuesday, at least 17 soldiers were killed in an attack near Burkina Faso, the deadliest since the coup.
Also earlier this week, at least 28 civilians died in violence in several villages near Mali, according to a local official source who did not specify the nature of the violence.
