West Africa’s regional economic bloc threatened a military intervention to remove the leader of a coup in Niger unless the junta reinstates the nation’s democratically elected president.
The warning by the Economic Community of West African States came after thousands of people rallied in the capital, Niamey, on Sunday in support of the junta and staged a protest at the French Embassy in the centre of the city. France, the former colonial power in Niger, said it will retaliate if any of its citizens are attacked.
Ecowas, as the bloc is known, imposed sanctions on Niger on Sunday, including closing air and land borders , freezing the nation’s assets at the regional central bank, and halting energy transactions. It demanded the immediate release and return to power of President Mohamed Bazoum, and said it was treating his detention by the coup leaders as a “hostage situation” for which it would hold them responsible.
“In the event that the authority’s demands are not met within one week, we will take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the republic of Niger,” the bloc said in a statement after a meeting in Abuja, the capital of neighboring Nigeria. “Such measures may include the use of force.”
Read more: What’s Driving Coups in Niger and Across West Africa?: QuickTake
Any military intervention by Ecowas would be the first since the bloc deployed troops in Gambia in January 2017, when President Yahya Jammeh refused to step down after losing a presidential election in December 2016. Jammeh relinquished power shortly before the troops entered the nation’s capital.
Niger is considerably larger than Gambia and would require the coordination of troops from Ecowas’s 15 member states, stretching from Nigeria to Mauritania. The bloc’s defense chiefs of staff are to meet “immediately” to discuss the potential military intervention, it said.
Chad’s military ruler, Interim President Mahamat Deby Itno, was in Niamey on Sunday to meet the junta leaders and help resolve the crisis that began on July 26, when the presidential guard led by General Abdourahamane Tiani detained Bazoum. Tiani declared himself Niger’s new leader two days later.
The coup leaders, who are believed to be backed by all the segments of the security forces, have so far ignored previous calls by Ecowas, the African Union, the US and France to release Bazoum and return to their barracks. Previous sanctions imposed by Ecowas on junta leaders in countries including Mali and Burkina Faso failed to overturn coups in those countries.
Read more: Six Things We Know About Niger’s New Military Leader
Niger has long been a key ally to the European Union and the US in the global fight against jihadists in the region. It receives almost $2 billion in annual development aid, according to the World Bank.
France, which has 1,500 troops stationed in Niger, said it had suspended aid that amounted to €120 million ($132 million) last year. The EU, which has committed €503 million in development aid from 2021-2024, has announced “the immediate cessation of budget support” and security cooperation.
France has uranium mines in Niger operated by companies including Orano SA. Niger was the world’s seventh-largest producer of the metal last year, though its output has more than halved in the past decade, according to the World Nuclear Association.
US security and development assistance was also “in jeopardy,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference on Saturday.
Read more: US Mulls Freezing Aid to Niger as Coup Condemnation Grows
Niger has been considered a reliable partner to the West in Africa’s Sahel region, which has experienced persistent political and economic instability. France and the US maintain bases in the country as part of international efforts to fight jihadists, while the EU sees it as an ally in its efforts to tackle illegal immigration from Africa.
The coup in Niger creates a belt of military-run countries that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, many of which are less friendly with the West than they are with Russia, which has made inroads in the region in recent years partly through the Wagner Group.
[Bloomberg]