Crucial day in Niger. The leaders of West African countries opposed to the coup are meeting in Abuja on Thursday for a summit, after the failure of their ultimatum to the military who took power. L’Express summarizes the latest information on the current political crisis in Niger.
ECOWAS decisions expected
“Important decisions” are expected at this summit, warned the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Tuesday, which reaffirmed that it favors diplomatic means to restore constitutional order in Niger, while now his threat of the use of force. ECOWAS, through Nigeria, which holds the rotating presidency of the organization, spoke for the first time since the expiration on Sunday evening of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the military to restore President Mohamed Bazoum to his duties. .
However, the new masters of Niger have so far seemed closed to attempts at negotiations by ECOWAS. This raises fears that Thursday’s summit materializes the threat of military intervention, as feared as it is criticized in the region. Again on Tuesday, a joint delegation of ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations tried to go to Niamey. In vain, the putschists blocked their way by invoking reasons of “security”.
Africa divided on the subject
Flying to the Nigerian capital on Wednesday evening, Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo claimed that “the only president” recognized in Niger is President Bazoum. “Coups must be banned”, he added, considering that ECOWAS, of which his country and Niger are part, was gambling its existence after the putsch in three other Member States (Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso suspended from its governing bodies) since 2020.
For their part, Mali and Burkina Faso showed their solidarity with the soldiers of Niger. They claimed that if the country was attacked by ECOWAS, it would be “a declaration of war” for them.
On Tuesday, they sent joint letters to the UN and the AU calling for their “responsibility” to prevent “any military intervention against Niger, the extent of the security and humanitarian consequences of which would be unpredictable”.
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UN chief “concerned” about Bazoum’s detention conditions
In its efforts to restore President Bazoum, ECOWAS can count on the support of Western powers, first and foremost the United States and France, which had made Niger a pivot of their anti-jihadist system in the Sahel.
The UN secretary general said on Wednesday he was “concerned” about the conditions of detention of ousted Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum, and demanded his release. Antonio Guterres denounced “the deplorable conditions in which President Bazoum and his family would live,” the UN said in a statement.
According to the American media CNN, Mohamed Bazoum is kept isolated by the soldiers who overthrew him from power, and has only uncooked pasta and rice to eat. According to the same source, he claimed in a series of messages sent to a friend that he had been deprived of “all human contact since Friday”, without anyone bringing him food or medicine.
France denies violating Niger’s airspace
Since the military came to power, France has suspended military cooperation agreements with Niamey. The Nigerien soldiers themselves denounced these agreements last week, which Paris rejected, on the grounds that they had been signed by the legitimate Nigerien authorities.
On Wednesday, the military accused Paris of having violated Niger’s airspace in the morning, closed since Sunday, with a French army plane from Chad, and of having “liberated terrorists”. Charges immediately denied by France.