UAE MAY HAVE PLAYED A ROLE IN ATTEMPTED COUP AGAINST NIGER GOVERNMENT- REPORT

Sat 29 July 2023:

French-language Algerian newspaper Le Soir d’Algerie reported that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may have played a role in the attempted coup against Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum.

The newspaper pointed out that all eyes were on the current Niger ambassador to the UAE, who was the army’s chief of staff before Bazoum dismissed him.

The newspaper noted that the presence of the former chief of staff of the Niger army in the UAE may have given him the “boldness” to turn the table on Bazoum, especially if he was supported by senior officials in Abu Dhabi.

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This report comes in the wake of an unprecedented attack by the Algerian media on the Emirati role in the region. Algerian newspaper El Khabar published information quoting so-called “reliable” sources. It indicated that the UAE had committed “hostile acts” against Algeria, most notably providing Moroccan authorities with a spy programme to use on the country and making attempts to drag the countries of the Maghreb region towards normalisation with Israel to weaken Algeria. The newspaper described Abu Dhabi as “the capital of confusion” in its article.

El Khabar wrote: “Emirati officials want, at any price and in any way, to impose their country’s presence in the Sahel region.”

The Algerian Foreign Ministry condemned the coup attempt, calling for an immediate end to what it described as an unacceptable assault on the constitutional order and a serious violation of the requirements of the rule of law.

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A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that Algeria follows with great concern the developments in the situation in the Republic of Niger and reaffirms its adherence to the basic principles guiding the collective action of African countries within the African Union, including the categorical rejection of unconstitutional changes of governments.

Algeria noted the need for everyone to work to preserve the political and institutional stability of the Republic of Niger to guarantee its sustainability of security, which faces significant challenges in a region facing multidimensional crises with unprecedented severity.