As the deadline set by the regional bloc approaches, pressure is increasing on military leaders in Niger

The approaching ECOWAS deadline for the military to cede power or face potential armed intervention increased the pressure on the coup leaders in Niger on Sunday.

France, a former colonial power that the junta severed military links with after seizing control on July 26, said that it would “firmly” support whatever course of action ECOWAS chose after the Sunday deadline had passed.

After meeting with Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, the prime minister of Niger, in Paris, Catherine Colonna’s office said that “the future of Niger and the stability of the entire region are at risk.”

The latest of numerous coups that have rocked Africa’s Sahel area since 2020, the ECOWAS military chiefs of staff have decided on a strategy for a potential intervention in response to the situation.

“We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message to be clearly transmitted to them (the junta) that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done,” ECOWAS commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah said on Friday.

But he issued a warning that, including the use of force and the timing of it, “all the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out.”

Since 2012, Islamist insurgencies have plagued the Sahel region. France and the United States have sent around 1,500 and 1,000 soldiers there, respectively, as part of their strategy to confront these insurgencies.

However, there is a growth in anti-French feeling in the area, and Russian influence has increased, often via the Wagner mercenary organization. Moscow has issued a caution against foreign forces using force to occupy Niger.

‘ERROR OF JUDGEMENT’

Sebastien Lecornu, minister of the French armed forces, told AFP in an interview on Saturday that the coup “is an error of judgment that totally goes against the interests of the country.”

“This coup will weaken the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, where activity by armed terrorist groups is resurgent, particularly taking advantage of some failed states like Mali,” he said.

He noted that Niger, one of the world’s poorest nations, depends largely on international funding, which might be halted if President Mohamed Bazoum is not restored to his position as head of state.

According to the junta, force will be met with force.

Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the president of Algeria, came out against any military action in the neighboring Niger.

In a television interview on Saturday night, he said, “We categorically refuse any military intervention,” adding that such action would be “a direct threat to Algeria.”

“There will be no solution without us (Algeria),” he said. We are the first group impacted.

He said that Algeria and Niger “share nearly a thousand kilometers” of border.

He said, referring to Libya and Syria, “What is the situation today in countries that have experienced military intervention?”

Any regional engagement would amount to a “declaration of war” against Mali and Burkina Faso, whose military juntas have been in power since 2020.

Since July 26, Bazoum, 63, and his family have been detained by the coup plotters at their official Niamey mansion.

Bazoum warned a successful putsch would “have devastating consequences for our country, our region, and the entire world” in a piece published in The Washington Post on Thursday. It was his first major remark after his imprisonment.

Bazoum pleaded with “the US government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order” after winning the 2021 election that brought about the first-ever transfer of power from one civilian administration to another in Niger.

– NIGERIA OPPOSITION –

In addition to closing the borders of the huge Sahel nation, Nigeria has shut off energy supplies to its neighbor Niger, increasing concerns for the humanitarian situation and making it more difficult to distribute food.

President Bola Tinubu has been encouraged by senior Nigerian lawmakers to reevaluate the threatening military intervention.

According to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, “The Senate calls on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to further encourage other leaders of ECOWAS to strengthen the political and diplomatic options.”

Senators from the seven northern Nigerian states that border Niger on a total of around 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) have previously warned against intervening until all other possibilities have been explored.

On Thursday, Tinubu personally encouraged ECOWAS to do “whatever it takes” to bring about a “amicable resolution” to the issue in Niger.