2023-07-29 23:57:00
West African countries are meeting in Abuja on Sunday for a “special summit” to assess the situation in Niger after the military coup, with probable sanctions in the wake of those decided by France and the EU.
The pressure increases every day a little more on the new strong man proclaimed of the country, the putschist general Abdourahamane Tiani, head of the presidential guard of Niger, at the origin of the fall of Mohamed Bazoum, sequestered for four days.
In fact, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS, 15 members) can impose sanctions on Niger, one of its members, and follow in the footsteps of the EU and France, which have decided to suspend their budgetary aid, and even security on the side of the European institution, not recognizing the “authorities” resulting from the putsch.
The Nigerian president at the head of the West African bloc, Bola Tinubu, condemned the coup on Wednesday and promised that the organization and the international community “would do everything to defend democracy” and its “rooting” in the sub-region.
French official development aid for Niger amounted to 120 million euros in 2022. It was to be slightly higher in 2023 but will therefore not be delivered, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
As for the African Union (AU), it gave the military a fortnight ultimatum on Friday to restore “constitutional authority”.
The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken assured Mr. Bazoum of the “unwavering support” of Washington, ensuring that the coup jeopardized the “partnership” between the United States and Niger.
Pivot antijihadiste
Located in the heart of the Sahel, this country is one of the poorest countries in the world, a vast desert territory with a population of some 20 million inhabitants, with one of the highest demographic growth rates on the planet.
Niamey is also the last ally with which France maintains a so-called “combat” partnership against the jihadists, in this region undermined by instability, precariousness and attacks.
Paris currently has some 1,500 soldiers in Niger, who have so far operated jointly with the local army.
The M62 civil movement, which had already protested against the French army’s Barkhane operation in the Sahel and the Sahara, called for demonstrations on Sunday despite the ban on the gathering.
General Tiani, proclaimed head of state by his peers, justified Wednesday’s coup by “the deterioration of the security situation”.
While qualifying as “appreciable” the support of Niger’s “external partners” – France and the United States (1,100 soldiers) being among the main ones – he asked them to “trust (in its) defense and security (FDS)”.
International condemnation
The putsch led by this discreet high-ranking officer was strongly condemned by Niamey’s Western partners, several African countries and the UN, who demanded the release of Mohamed Bazoum.
The entourage of the latter denounced “a coup d’etat for personal convenience”, affirming that Mr. Bazoum “is doing very well” despite his confinement.
In Nairobi, Kenyan President William Ruto said that with this coup, “Africa has suffered a serious setback in its democratic progress”.
The deposed president’s energy minister, Ibrahim Yacouba, invited ECOWAS and the AU to fight for “the release without delay” of Mr. Bazoum and the resumption of his duties.
Rich in uranium, Niger has a history of coups since the independence of this former French colony in 1960. The region, too, is unstable, the country being the third to experience a coup since 2020 after the arrival of the military in Mali and Burkina Faso.
A few days before Independence Day on August 3, relative calm reigned on Saturday in the streets of Niamey after the ban on pro-coup demonstrations.
The junta, which brings together all the bodies of the army, the gendarmerie and the police, suspended the institutions, closed the land and air borders, and established a curfew in effect from midnight to 5:00 am.
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