West African bloc to meet Thursday after Niger defies coup ultimatum

Niamey, Niger (AFP):

West African leaders will hold a summit on the crisis in Niger this week after the country’s military rulers defied an ultimatum to restore the elected government.

In its first official reaction since Niger ignored the deadline of midnight on Sunday to reinstate democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, the ECOWAS regional bloc said it would meet in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Thursday.

“The ECOWAS leaders will be considering and discussing the political situation and recent developments in Niger during the summit,” the 15-nation bloc said.

ECOWAS had issued its ultimatum at a previous summit in Abuja on July 30, warning it did not rule out the “use of force” in Niger.

No foreign troops were visible on the streets of Niger’s capital, Niamey, after the deadline came and went on Sunday.

A source close to ECOWAS said an immediate military intervention to restore Bazoum was not being envisaged at this stage.

Neighbouring Mali nevertheless said it and Burkina Faso — which have both been suspended from ECOWAS over their own military coups — were sending a joint official delegation to Niamey to show “solidarity (with) the people of Niger”.

They have said military intervention would be tantamount to a declaration of war.

Niger’s military leaders have closed the nation’s airspace and on Monday its skies were clear of traffic, according to the flight tracking website Flightradar24.

Italy urged ECOWAS to extend the deadline and seek a diplomatic solution, with a similar call from Germany.

“A solution must be found. It’s not set that there is no way other than war,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told La Stampa newspaper.

Constitutional order 

Algeria, which shares a long land border with Niger, has also cautioned against a military solution, which President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said would be “a direct threat” to his North African country.

Senators in regional heavyweight Nigeria urged everyone to focus on the “political and diplomatic option”.

Just before the ultimatum expired on Sunday, Niger’s military rulers closed the Sahel country’s airspace and warned any attempt to enter it would meet with an “energetic and immediate response”.

They said there had been a “pre-deployment in preparation for intervention” made by two Central African countries, without naming them, and warned: “Any state involved will be considered co-belligerent.”

Former colonial power France, with which Niger’s new rulers have broken military ties, said it would “firmly” back whatever course of action ECOWAS took after the deadline expired.

The Niger coup was the latest of several to plague Africa’s Sahel belt since 2020.

Niger has played a key part in Western strategies to combat insurgencies that have plagued the Sahel since 2012, with France and the United States stationing around 1,500 and 1,000 troops in the country, respectively.

France has already evacuated hundreds of its citizens from Niger since the coup, and on Sunday, Italy’s defence ministry said it had flown 65 military personnel from Niger, along with 10 US military personnel.