Mon 07 August 2023:
After Niger coup leaders rejected a demand to cede power, West African states declared on Monday that another emergency summit would be held to discuss the political crisis in Niger.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) threatened to use military force to restore constitutional order if the junta that toppled Niger’s Mohamed Bazoum did not restore him to office within seven days, which expired on Sunday.
But as the deadline approached on Sunday, the junta took action by close the nation’s airspace.
“Niger’s armed forces and all our defence and security forces, backed by the unfailing support of our people, are ready to defend the integrity of our territory,” a spokesman for the coup leaders said in a statement on national television.
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is also the chairman of ECOWAS, will convene the next meeting on Thursday in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, according to a statement.
“ECOWAS leaders will be considering and discussing the political situation and recent developments in Niger during the summit,” the statement said.
Analysts believe regional leaders need a unified position in seeking an immediate solution to prevent escalation that could potentially impact the entire West African region.
Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Benin have all expressed their willingness to send troops into Niger if ECOWAS endorses the decision to reinstate Bazoum, who has reportedly been held hostage.
But Niger’s neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, both run by military rulers, declared their strong backing for the junta that deposed Bazoum, splitting from the ECOWAS position.
A fracture within ECOWAS and escalation of the standoff with Niger would further destabilise one of the world’s poorest regions, which is already facing a hunger crisis and armed groups that have killed thousands of people and displaced millions.
At pro-coup rallies in Niamey, some participants have cast the situation as a patriotic battle by the former French colony to retain its independence in the face of imperialist interference. Some have held up Russian flags and expressed anti-French sentiments.
“The aim of the demonstration is to show the whole world and the international community that we are 100% behind [the military],” demonstrator Amadou Hamadou Moumouni said during a rally at the national stadium on Sunday.
Niger’s uranium and oil reserves and its pivotal role in a war with armed groups in the Sahel region give it economic and strategic importance for the US, Europe, China and Russia.
Bazoum was detained by members of his presidential guard on July 26, who later that evening announced the government takeover.
Two days later, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, the guard’s commander, had vowed not to give in to threats to revert the coup, declaring himself the head of a transitional government.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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