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Yesterday, the military council in Niger announced the reopening of borders with 5 countries, a week after they were closed following the coup against President Mohamed Bazoum.
“The council has reopened the borders with Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Libya and Chad,” Colonel Amadou Abdel Rahman, a spokesman for the military council, said in a statement read on state television.
Niger’s reopening of its borders with the five countries comes as the defense ministers of the Economic Community of West African countries (ECOWAS) begin meetings in Abuja that will continue until Friday to discuss developments in the situation in Niger, and it sent a delegation to Niamey to negotiate with the military council.
ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Niger and said it might use force if the coup leaders did not return President Mohamed Bazoum to power.
“The military option is the last option on the table, the last resort, but we have to prepare for that eventuality,” Abdel Fattah Musa, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, told reporters in Abuja: “There is a need to show that we can not only talk but we can act.” also”.
Moussa stated that “the delegation sent to Niger is headed by former Nigerian President Abdel Salam Abu Bakr to start talks with the military council.”
The military council in Niger is headed by General Abderrahmane Tiane, former head of the Bazoum presidential guard.
Internationally, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said after a meeting with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in Abuja yesterday: “The UK very much welcomes the ECOWAS moves, which are decisive moves with a strong commitment to democracy.”
France and Italy continued to evacuate European nationals from Niger amid growing concerns about the crisis, as the first military planes carrying European nationals landed in Paris and Rome yesterday, while America is preparing to evacuate some of its embassy staff from Niger.
“Over two days, with the help of our French friends, we have already managed to evacuate more than 40 Germans by air from Niger,” said German Foreign Minister Analina Baerbock, adding that more flights would be conducted. While France announced that it had evacuated more than 350 French people so far.
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