African bloc to meet to discuss Niger coup as evacuations continue
European countries’ continued with their evacuation of foreign nationals from Niger, as defence chiefs from West Africa’s regional political and security bloc were poised to meet in Abuja to discuss last week’s coup against the country’s democratically elected president.
The 15-nation regional bloc Ecowas has threatened to use force to put down the coup in Niger after delivering an ultimatum those behind the coup to restore Mohamed Bazoum as president and reinstate the constitution and democratic institutions.
Envoys from Ecowas, led by the former Nigerian president Abdulsalami Abubakar to Niamey as Nigeria’s chief of staff warned the threat of military intervention was serious.
“We are ready, and as soon as we receive the order to intervene, we will do so,” Nigeria’s chief of staff, Christopher Musa, said on Radio France International’s Hausa service on Monday.
The response by Ecowa – and Nigeria, the bloc’s key power – is seen as a key test for the grouping amid a rash of recent coups in the region, Russian-sponsored interference and the growing issue of jihadist insurgency that members fear could spill over borders.
The UN special envoy for West Africa and the Sahel told a virtual briefing late on Tuesday that “different member states are preparing themselves to use force if necessary”.
The M62 Movement, a local activist group that supports the coup, called for residents in the capital, Niamey, to “mobilise” and block the airport until foreign military forces leave the country.
Niger – an impoverished country despite being one of the world’s largest sources of uranium – is seen by the US and European allies as a key base in the struggle against armed jihadist groups in the Sahel, with foreign forces based there.
Amid a growing sense of crisis, foreign nationals queued outside an airport in Niger’s capital before dawn on Wednesday morning to wait for a French military evacuation flight.
One passenger who did not want to be named for security reasons said they had tried to shield their children from what was happening, telling them “just that they’re going home”.
The passenger said they feared reprisal attacks against civilians if Niger’s regional neighbours followed through on threats to intervene militarily.
On Wednesday, 350 French nationals arrived by air in France after being evacuated after France, Italy and Spain announced emergency repatriations in the wake of the coup.
The US has yet to announce plans for an evacuation, but some of its citizens have left with the help of the Europeans.
France’s first two flights evacuated more than 350 French nationals, as well as people from Niger and at least 10 other countries, the French foreign ministry said. The Paris airport authority said two more evacuation flights were scheduled to land on Wednesday afternoon.
An Italian military aircraft also landed in Rome on Wednesday with 99 passengers, including 21 Americans and civilians from other countries.
Bazoum was overthrown on 26 July when members of his own guard detained him at the presidency with their leader, Gen Abdourahamane Tiani, declaring himself head of state.
Ecowas threatened the use of force against the junta if it did not release and reinstate the president within a week, an ultimatum immediately rejected by neighbouring Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, all of which are run by mutinous soldiers who toppled their governments.
Mali and Burkina Faso’s leaders said a military intervention in Niger “would be tantamount to a declaration of war” against them.
With those countries struggling to quell jihadist insurgencies within their own borders it was unclear what effective opposition they could mount against an Ecowas mission.
However, at a virtual United Nations meeting on Tuesday night, the UN special envoy for West Africa and the Sahel said non-military efforts were under way to restore democracy in Niger.
“One week can be more than enough if everybody talks in good faith, if everybody wants to avoid bloodshed,” said Leonardo Santos Simao. But, he added, “different member states are preparing themselves to use force if necessary”.
Others in the diplomatic community insist the use of force is a real option.
Ecowas is resolved to use military force after economic and travel sanctions have failed to roll back other coups, said a western diplomat in Niamey, who did not want to be identified for security reasons.