Niger’s new junta accused France on Monday of attempting to “intervene militarily” in order to restore overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum, as tensions rose with the country’s former colonial power and neighbors.
The elite Presidential Guard deposed Bazoum, a Western friend whose victory little over two years ago was a watershed moment in Niger’s tumultuous history.
General Abdourahamane Tiani, head of the Guards, declared himself leader, but his claim has been rejected internationally, and the West African bloc ECOWAS has given him a week to hand over authority.
After thousands demonstrated outside the French embassy on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron threatened “immediate and uncompromising” response if French persons or interests were targeted.
Some of them attempted to enter the compound but were chased away by tear gas.
On Monday, the junta accused France of planning an intervention.
“In its search for ways and means to intervene militarily in Niger, France met with the chief of staff of the Nigerien National Guard to obtain the necessary political and military authorization,” it stated on national television.
The putschists also claimed that six individuals were hospitalized after embassy security forces shot tear gas at the protest.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) issued a strong warning on Sunday.
The bloc requested that Bazoum be returned within a week, or it will take “all measures” to restore constitutional order, which “may include the use of force.”
“There is no longer time for us to issue a warning signal… “It is time for action,” said ECOWAS chairman Bola Tinubu, president of Nigeria, Niger’s southeast neighbor and regional heavyweight.
Russia demanded the immediate restoration of “the rule of law” and “restraint from all parties so that human casualties are avoided.”
– Critical ally – Following Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger became the third Sahel country in less than three years to be jolted by a military coup.
A jihadist insurgency strained fragile regimes, fueled military rage, and wreaked economic havoc on some of the world’s poorest countries in all three countries.
Pro-Russian, anti-French demonstrations have accompanied the removal of elected presidents.
Protesters claim that France, the country’s traditional partner, has failed to protect them against terrorists, but Russia would be a more powerful ally.
In Mali, a 2020 putsch resulted in a breakup with France, which withdrew its soldiers last year as the junta brought in Russian paramilitaries.
France also left Burkina Faso after two coups last year installed a nationalist regime.
France restructured its decade-long anti-jihadist campaign in the Sahel, focusing its efforts in Niger, where it has 1,500 troops and a big air base near Niamey.
According to the putschists, the current attempt was in response to “the degradation of the security situation” caused by the terrorist fight, as well as corruption and economic hardships.
International critics have increased their pressure, focusing on trade and development aid.
ECOWAS has halted all economic and financial transactions, while France, the European Union, and the United States, which has approximately a thousand troops in Niger, have either pulled off or threatened to cut off support.
On Monday, Germany suspended financial aid and development cooperation, as well as UN humanitarian missions.
– Unstable nation – Since its independence from France in 1960, the landlocked Sahel state has experienced four coups and countless additional attempts, including two previously against Bazoum.
The 62-year-old is a former interior minister and former president Mahamadou Issoufou’s right-hand man, who stood down willingly after two mandates.
Their handover in April 2021, following elections won by Bazoum in a two-round race against former President Mahamane Ousmane, was Niger’s first peaceful power transition since independence.
The desert landlocked country usually ranks near the bottom of the United Nations’ Human Development Index, a measure of affluence.
It is fighting two terrorist campaigns: one in the southwest, which rushed in from Mali in 2015, and one in the southeast, which involves jihadists from northeastern Nigeria.
