Staff Writer
As tensions with the former colonial power and its neighbors increased, Niger’s new junta said on Monday that France was attempting to “intervene militarily” in order to restore deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.
In response, France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said it was still “possible” to bring Bazoum back to power in the evening.
The powerful Presidential Guard overthrew Bazoum, a western ally whose victory just over two years ago marked Niger’s first peaceful transfer of power since independence.
General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of the guards, announced himself to be the leader, but his claim has been rejected internationally, and the West African bloc ECOWAS has given him one week to abdicate.
Following a number of arrests, Bazoum’s PNDS party issued a warning on Monday that Niger risked turning into a “dictatorial and totalitarian regime.”
The party claimed that the arrests of the mining and oil ministers on Monday morning. Additionally detained was the chairman of the national executive committee of the PNDS.
The party claimed that the junta had previously detained the interior and transport ministers as well as a former minister of defense.
On live television, the putschists attacked France, claiming that “in its search for ways and means to intervene militarily in Niger, France with the complicity of some Nigeriens, held a meeting with the chief of staff of the Nigerien National Guard to obtain the necessary political and military authorisation.”
Colonna responded to the accusation by saying, “It’s wrong,” and adding that it was still “possible” to reinstate the democratically elected president to office.
Destabilization poses a risk to Niger and its neighbors, she added, thus it is important.
After tens of thousands of people demonstrated in front of the French embassy in Niamey on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron promised “immediate and uncompromising” response if French citizens or interests were targeted.
Tear gas was used to scatter those who attempted to enter the compound.
“Highly dangerous”
“Organised, not spontaneous, violent, extremely dangerous, with Molotov cocktails, Russian flags appearing, and anti-French slogans (that were) an exact copy of what you can hear elsewhere,” claimed Colonna of the event.
According to the presidential palace in Paris, Macron has spoken with regional leaders and Bazoum numerous times.
On Monday, there was also a protest in Zinder, eastern Niger, in favor of the junta.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) issued a stern caution on Sunday.
The bloc threatened to employ “all measures,” which “may include the use of force,” to restore constitutional order if Bazoum was not reinstated within a week.
Bola Tinubu, president of Nigeria, the region’s superpower and Niger’s neighbor to the southeast, declared that “it is time for action” as ECOWAS chairman.
The speedy restoration of “the rule of law” and “restraint from all parties” were demanded by Russia.
After its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, the nation of Niger was rattled by a military coup in less than three years.
A jihadist insurgency in all three countries tore apart weak governments, inflamed military resentment, and inflicted economic harm on some of the world’s poorest nations.
Pro-Russian and anti-French protests have often accompanied the removal of elected leaders.
important ally
Protesters claim that while Russia would be a stronger ally, France, the nation’s traditional ally, has failed to protect them from the jihadists.
A coup attempt in 2020 in Mali resulted in a dispute with France, which last year withdrew its troops as the junta inserted Russian paramilitaries.
Following two coups last year that installed a junta that followed a nationalist agenda, France also left Burkina Faso.
In response to the withdrawals, France revised its ten-year anti-jihadist policy in the Sahel, focusing on Niger, where it has 1,500 troops and a significant air base close to Niamey.
The putschists claimed that the most recent coup was a reaction to “the degradation of the security situation” brought on by the jihadist fight, as well as corruption and financial difficulties.
International naysayers have increased their pressure, focusing on trade and aid for development.
The ECOWAS has halted all business and financial transactions. The United States, which has 1,100 troops in Niger, as well as France and the European Union have either cut off support or threatened to do so.
On Monday, Germany halted its financial assistance and development cooperation. Additionally, UN humanitarian missions have been postponed.
Since gaining its independence from France in 1960, Niger has had four coups as well as countless additional attempts, including two in the past against Bazoum.
The 63-year-old former interior minister’s election represented the first orderly change in power in Niger since the country’s independence.
Two terrorist battles are being fought in the desert landlocked state, which routinely comes in last on the UN’s Human Development Index.
