West African Military Leaders Prepare Intervention Plan as Niger Talks Break Down

If the military coup in Niger is not overthrown by a Sunday deadline and President Mohamed Bazoum is not freed and reinstated, West African defence chiefs have prepared a plan for a potential military intervention in that country.

Abdel-Fatau Musah, commissioner for political affairs, peace, and security for the Economic Community of West African States, stated on Friday that “all the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out here, including the resources needed, the how, and the when we are going to deploy the force.”

From Wednesday to Friday, a number of ECOWAS military leaders met in Abuja, Nigeria, to talk about the political unrest in neighbouring Niger. A different diplomatic team that came in Niamey, the capital of Niger, on Thursday left without speaking with General Abdourahamane Tchiani or Bazoum.

The leaders of the attempted coup have made it clear they have no intention of giving up, and they have threatened to use force in response to the ECOWAS‘s ultimatum. “Suspended friendly countries”—a reference to Burkina Faso and Mali, two nations that have recently experienced military coups—were given an exception to the warning.

Late on Thursday, junta spokesman Amadou Abdramane announced an order terminating bilateral military accords with France, Niger’s former colonial power. Approximately 1,500 French soldiers are engaged in counterterrorism operations in the nation.

Abdramane also declared the resignation of the Bazoum government’s ambassadors to France, the United States, Togo, and neighbouring Nigeria, which is in charge of ECOWAS’s mediation attempts.

The African Union, Western governments, and the UN have all strongly denounced the coup. President of the United States Joe Biden demanded Bazoum’s immediate release on Thursday, saying Niger is “facing a grave challenge to its democracy.”

According to a statement released by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, the United States has suspended various aid initiatives that benefited the government of Niger. He did, however, promise that food and humanitarian supplies will continue.

The supply of U.S. support to the government of Niger rests on democratic administration and adherence to the law, Blinken added in the statement.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, told VOA on Friday that the coup was “an unacceptable action by the military, and we have to work together with the region to try to push back on this.”

She said that the United States was evacuating “some American citizens in an ordered departure” from Niger.

But, she continued, “our embassy is still open. President Bazoum is one of the parties with whom we are in ongoing diplomatic contact in Niger.

Bazoum, who has been living under house arrest with his family since July 26, referred to himself as a “hostage” in a Washington Post piece on Thursday and stated that if the mutiny succeeded, “it will have devastating consequences for our country, our region, and the entire world.”

He pleaded with “the U.S. government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order.”

Tchiani, a former commander of the presidential guard in Niger, proclaimed himself the country’s new leader on Monday, claiming that the need for the change was a result of the instability the country was experiencing as a result of an Islamist insurgency.

According to data released on Thursday by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, however, violent occurrences in Niger actually declined by about 40% in the first half of 2023 compared to the prior half.

The project is a crisis-monitoring organisation in the US. Additionally, according to its data, Niger’s security situation has improved as a result of the government of Bazoum’s policies and the support of French and American forces. Approximately 1,100 US military soldiers are stationed in Niger.

This report was provided to by U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer. The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters all provided some information.