The administrations of Burkina Faso and Mali, both headed by their armies, released a joint statement expressing their rejection of a possible military intervention in Niger to restore the government of the ousted Mohamed Bazoum, which is still held by the coup leaders. Guinean leaders also warned that any foreign interference in the situation would lead to a split in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
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A week after the coup in Niger, which was considered one of the last democratic bastions of the Sahel, the foreign groups that show their support or rejection of the armed insurrection of the Army in Niamey are lining up. On July 31, the military juntas of Burkina Faso and Mali stepped forward, assuming that any military intervention by a foreign nation in Niger would also be a “declaration of war” for them.
“Mali and Burkina Faso warn that any military intervention in Niger will be considered a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali,” the two armies said in a joint statement broadcast on their respective national channels.
On the other hand, the Government of Guinea, also headed by the military, recognized the “new authorities” of Niger and mentioned that the new political organization of this country would do “everything possible to guarantee stability and harmony” within its territory. and throughout the region, in addition to showing its rejection of the sanctions imposed by Cedeao on Niger.
“The sanction measures recommended by ECOWAS, including military intervention, are an option that would not be a solution to the current problem, but would cause a human disaster whose consequences could cross the borders of Niger,” warned the National Committee of the Group for development, the name by which the military junta that seized state power in Guinea in September 2021 called itself.
On Sunday, ECOWAS leaders said they would not rule out the use of force if a “full return to constitutional order” was not achieved within a week.
Western nations reject the coup in Niger
Apart from the signs of support extended by the nations surrounding Niger, countries such as the United States, France and Germany have expressed their condemnation of the coup against Bazoum and have echoed the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.
A US State Department official, on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that “there is still a small window of opportunity to reverse” the coup led by him and reinstate the government of Mohamed Bazoum.
From Paris, the actions of the Niger Army have been rejected on multiple occasions by the Government of Emmanuel Macron, although the Foreign Ministry affirms that, for now, there are no plans to intervene in the former colony.
In addition, a German foreign spokesman declared that, although Berlin considers that an evacuation of German compatriots “is not necessary”, Olaf Scholz’s Administration is prepared for any “escalation” in tensions inside Niamey.
Russia is watching cautiously
Despite the fact that Russian flags were seen in a riot outside the French embassy in the capital of Niger on July 30, the Kremlin has been discreet in addressing the situation, stating that the coup carried out by forces led by General Abdourahamane Tiani is a “reason for serious concern,” calling on all involved to “return to constitutional order.”
Far from the Kremlin, the controversial leader of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Progozhin, received the news of the coup in Niger positively and took the opportunity to offer the services of his organization to the coup military junta.
“What happened in Niger is nothing other than the struggle of the Nigerien people with their colonizers. With the colonizers who are trying to impose their rules of life and their conditions and keep them in the state in which Africa was hundreds of years ago,” he said. Prigozhin in a voicemail to his Telegram group.
Niger is the seventh largest producer of uranium in the world, a vital metal for the interests of Paris in the energy field, since according to media such as ‘Liberation’, Niamey exported almost a third of the uranium used by France to maintain the functions of its nuclear generators in 2020.
The coup discourse is full of indirect allegories to its former condition as a French colony and although for the moment they have not spoken directly against Paris, tensions could escalate in rhetoric given the reactivity of the situation.
With France 24, Reuters and EFE
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