The West African community of states Ecowas has threatened the new military rulers in Niger with severe sanctions and violence.
At an emergency meeting, Ecowas also called for the immediate release and reinstatement of President Mohamed Bazoum, who was arrested in a coup on Wednesday, and for the full restoration of constitutional order in Niger. If this does not happen within a week, Ecowas will take measures that could also include the use of force, the international community announced at the end of the summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
Ecowas also threatened legal prosecution of the military junta. Trade and financial transactions between Ecowas member states and Niger would be suspended, it said, air and land borders closed. Ecowas called on the central banks of its member states to freeze the assets of Nigerien state and semi-state companies and the military involved in the coup. Also, all financial support and transactions with Nigerien financial institutions would be suspended. Ecowas will immediately appoint a special representative and send him to Niger to convey the demands to the military junta.
On Wednesday, officers from General Omar Tchiani’s elite unit arrested the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum and declared him ousted. Tchiani appointed himself the new ruler on Friday. Shortly after Tchiani took power as de facto president, the putschists suspended the West African country’s constitution and dissolved all constitutional institutions.
Orientation towards Russia
The demonstrators were sometimes violent, the French news agency AFP wrote on Twitter. Some people tore down the plaque of the French embassy in Niamey, trampled on it and replaced it with Russian and Nigerien flags. After military coups in the neighboring countries of Mali and Burkina Faso, the new rulers there also turned their attention to Russia.
The Élysée Palace said that French President Emmanuel Macron would not tolerate any attack on France and its interests. France will respond immediately and relentlessly to any attack on its citizens, diplomats and institutions. The French foreign ministry said Paris is calling on Nigerien forces to fulfill their responsibilities to ensure the security of French diplomatic and consular missions in the country.
After a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, the former colonial power France announced on Saturday that it would suspend its budget support and development aid to Niger. For France, Niger was recently an important partner in its anti-terrorist fight in the Sahel after the military rulers in Mali and Burkina Faso demanded the withdrawal of French troops.
The security situation in the Sahel region has been deteriorating for years
The Sahel zone stretches from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in the east. It has been suffering from a steadily deteriorating security situation for years. Many militias, some of whom have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) or the Al Qaeda terrorist network, regularly carry out attacks.
The coup could also have serious consequences for Europe’s strategy to curb migration across the Mediterranean, Konrad Adenauer Foundation regional office head for the Sahel, Ulf Laessing, told the German Press Agency on Sunday. “Without Niger, the strategy will… collapse,” said Laessing. Previous agreements are largely ineffective if the new military junta in Niger does not continue cooperation.
Important transit country for migrants
Niger is one of the most important transit countries for African migrants making their way to Europe. Since taking office in April 2021, Bazoum has been a key EU ally. The EU has been cooperating with Niger since 2015, primarily to block the critical migration route from the Nigerien desert city of Agadez to Libya.
The Nigerien police were better trained with the help of the EUCAP Sahel Niger civilian reconstruction mission. Niger also passed a law criminalizing the smuggling of migrants from Agadez through the Sahel to the border with Libya. Since then, the number of migrants to Libya has decreased, said Laessing.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also announced that the EU would stop its budget support for Niger immediately and suspend all security cooperation measures indefinitely. For the period from 2021 to 2024 alone, support payments of at least 503 million euros were planned via a multi-year program. It was initially unclear how much of this has already flowed out.
Laessing: “Europe in a weak position”
According to Laessing, it is doubtful whether the EU measures will have any effect. “In truth, the Europeans are in a rather weak position. If the migration route is reopened by the new rulers, Europe will have to negotiate (with the putschists),” said Laessing.
The West African community of nations Ecowas, which had strongly condemned the coup, held an emergency meeting on Niger on Sunday. Ecowas continues to recognize incumbent President Mohamed Bazoum as Niger’s legitimate head of state.
Prior to the Ecowas meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu. The minister has offered Ecowa’s support for efforts to restore constitutional order in Niger, Blinken spokesman Matthew Miller said.
