This Wednesday, August 9, the Niger military junta accused France of “trying to destabilize” the country after allegedly violating its airspace, closed since August 6, and releasing 16 “terrorist” prisoners to attack the southwest of Niger. But France has denied those accusations, while former rebel and politician Rhissa Ag Boula has launched a movement vowing to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, the first sign of internal resistance against the army.
The diplomatic track seems to be further and further away in Niger. Without presenting evidence, this Wednesday, August 9, the military junta accused French troops of carrying out an alleged “plan to destabilize the country”, by assuring that a French plane violated the airspace of its territory.
In addition, he claimed that Paris would have “unilaterally” released 16 “terrorists” who had previously been arrested to attack the nation.
This was stated in a video by the board’s spokesman, Amadou Abdramane. However, shortly after the French government rejected these accusations.
“Their goal is for the terrorists to attack our positions in the Tillaberi region of southwestern Niger,” Abdramane said.
The tension is latent. Nigerian airspace has been closed by the military since August 6, when the ultimatum of the Economic Community of West African States (Cedeao) expired to reinstate the ousted president Mohamed Bazoum. The regional bloc then threatened military intervention.
Tension with France is not something new in Niger, nor in other neighboring countries that were former French colonies such as Mali or Burkina Faso. This Wednesday Military authorities also detained the son of Niger’s ambassador to France, Drissa Kané, in Niamey.
According to information published by local media, Kané would be involved in a case of alleged embezzlement of public funds.
This new friction occurs at a critical moment: ECOWAS leaders are about to discuss their options in Niger, including military intervention, although the organization has already said that this would be the last resort.
Meanwhile, the problems do not stop arriving at the table of the Nigerian military junta. In the last few hours, a new actor in the internal conflict in Niger was announced: the Council of Resistance for the Republic (CRR).
Ag Boula, the face of the new internal resistance
His name is Rhissa Ag Boula and he heads the new internal resistance against the coup by the military junta in Niger. This Wednesday, the opponent of the Tuareg ethnic group and former Minister of State announced the creation of the Council of Resistance for the Republic (CRR), whose objective is to restore President Bazoum, under arrest at his residence since the coup d’état.
Ag Boula, a well-known figure in the Tuareg rebellion in the country, communicated the creation of the CRR through a letter, as well as their demands: the restoration of constitutional order, the reinstatement of the government of the deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, and the arrest of the leader of the military junta and General Abdourahamane Tiani.
“Niger is the victim of a tragedy orchestrated by people in charge of protecting it,” Boula said in the statement.
The ex-rebel pointed out that he will give his support to ECOWAS and any other organization or international power that tries to “restore constitutional order” in Niger, adding that he “will be available” for any “useful” purpose.
Ag Boula played a leading role in uprisings by the Tuaregs, a nomadic ethnic group present in the desert of northern Niger, between the 1990s and 2000s. But later, like many other rebels, he joined the Bazoum government. .
On Tuesday, August 8, the military junta refused to receive a tripartite mediation delegation made up of representatives of ECOWAS, the African Union and the UN, and argued that such a visit was inappropriate “given the current context of anger and revolution of the people against the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS”.
“We want to reach a constructive dialogue against the infamous practice of manipulation of the masses, the use of civilians as militias, as well as the temptation to resort to mercenaries, war criminals known under the name of Wagner,” the statement said. .
Sources inside the CRR said that a number of Nigerien political figures had joined the group, but were unable to make their allegiance public for security reasons. While the extent of the new resistance movement is not known, the support of the Tuaregs would be key for the de facto government, since they have great power in the north of the country.
The CRR is on the side of the UN, Western powers and ECOWAS, which are demanding that the junta restore civilian rule, even though its success in containing Sahelian terrorists has been relative.
New sanctions against the military junta
The new batch of sanctions against Niamey is on the way. The countries of the European Union have begun to lay the foundations to impose what will be their first sanctions against the coup regime.
An EU official and diplomat on condition of anonymity told Reuters that the bloc has begun discussing criteria for punitive measures.
“The next step would be sanctions against individual junta members” held responsible, the EU diplomat said.
Cedeao has also taken action. Bola Tinubu, President of Nigeria, issued the new sanctions through the Central Bank of Nigeria with the aim of directly hitting those involved in the coup.
In parallel, the West has expressed its concern for the welfare of the President Bazoum and his family, who according to his presidential adviser, “are running out of food.” The family would be at their residence with no electricity and low food reserves.
However, Bazoum’s spokesman assured that the president “will never resign” from his position.
With Reuters, AP and local media
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