The junta in Niger has denied entry to representatives of the economic community ECOWAS and the UN. Instead, the putschists are seeking talks with Mali, Burkina Faso – and the Wagner group.
After the coup in Niger, the fronts remain hardened: the military junta has refused entry to a planned negotiating mission by the United Nations, the ECOWAS confederation and the African Union. The representatives wanted to negotiate with the putschists about the reinstatement of President Mohamed Bazoum.
An atmosphere of threat is obviously being built up against Niger, the rulers said as justification. Instead, junta chief General Abdourahamane Tiani received a delegation from Mali and Burkina Faso on Monday, who assured him of their support.
Mali sees junta in the right
The military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, which were suspended by ECOWAS after coups, support the coup plotters in Niger. Mali’s Minister for Territorial Administration, Abdoulaye Maïga, after his meeting with General Tiani, reaffirmed “the active, effective and full participation of Mali and Burkina Faso in legitimate defense operations in the event of an ECOWAS attack on Niger”.
Putschists turn to Wagner mercenaries
ECOWAS had given the putschists until last Sunday to reinstate Bazoum and threatened to intervene. However, the junta missed the deadline, closed the country’s airspace and asked the Russian mercenary group Wagner for help. Its boss Yevgeny Prigozhin explained on Telegram that the putschists could call him at any time: “We are always on the side of good, on the side of justice and on the side of those who are fighting for the sovereignty and the rights of their people,” said Prigozhin .
The putschists have also called on the population to defend Niger. It’s unclear how much genuine support there is for the junta, but it seems to have won some civil society and political groups over to its side. There were a few pro-junta rallies on the mostly quiet streets of the capital, Niamey, with anti-Western sentiment and some participants waving Russian flags.
Time window for intervention could be closing
It is still unclear whether ECOWAS will intervene militarily. The French broadcaster RFI reported that the plans include a force of 25,000 soldiers. In addition to Nigeria, Benin, Senegal and the Ivory Coast had declared their readiness for military action. Other countries were initially cautious. The economic community will discuss how to proceed on Thursday.
Analysts and diplomats said the window of opportunity for military intervention was closing. If ECOWAS and others did not find enough regional support for this, they would look for another way out.
USA push for diplomatic solution
Top US diplomat Victoria Nuland was able to speak with new armed forces chief of staff Moussa Salao Barmou and three other members of the military junta in Niger on Monday, she said in a booth with reporters after the meeting. Nuland described the conversation as “very frank and at times quite difficult”.
Nuland said her request to meet the ousted and arrested President Bazoum was denied. This is practically under house arrest, but you could have phoned him. Tiani couldn’t see her either. “I hope that they will keep the door open to diplomacy,” she said, referring to the putschists.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said diplomacy is the preferred route for the US. He threatened to stop aid. “The disruption of the constitutional order puts us and many other states in a position where we have to stop our aid, our support,” Blinken told French radio station RFI.
Niger as an important partner in the fight against terror
So far, Niger has been an important partner for the USA and European countries in the fight against Islamist extremists in the Sahel region. Islamist fighters with ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist network and the terrorist group “Islamic State” are increasingly violent there.
The putschists justified their coup by saying that Bazoum was unable to protect the country from growing extremist violence. However, former jihadist Boubacar Moussa said Islamist extremists can move more freely around the country now that countries like France have suspended military action against them.