date for intervention
ECOWAS delegation visits Niger with military threat
08/19/2023, 7:53 p.m
So far, the West Africans have failed in all attempts at mediation in Niger. After their coup, a new delegation wants to persuade the military to release the elected president. But there is also a clear military message slumbering in the luggage of the ECOWAS states.
The West African community of states ECOWAS is making a new attempt to mediate after the coup in Niger. A delegation flew to the Nigerien capital Niamey for talks with the military junta. The delegation was received at the airport. So far, all negotiations between ECOWAS and the self-declared new ruler in Niger, General Abdourahamane Tiani, have failed.
According to the communications department of the new Nigerian rulers, the delegation will be led by Abdulsalami Abubakar, the former president of neighboring Nigeria. According to ECOWAS circles, she plans to deliver a “message of determination” to the new rulers. A visit to the imprisoned President-elect Mohammed Bazoum is also planned.
Young people gather to volunteer to fight for the country as part of a volunteer initiative.
(Photo: picture alliance/dpa/AP)
The organization says it is ready for military intervention in Niger if the order is given. The date for the military intervention in Niger has already been set, ECOWAS commission chief Abdel-Fatau Musah announced on Friday. 15 West African states belong to ECOWAS, including Niger itself. Up until now, ECOWAS had emphasized that it wanted to exhaust all diplomatic solutions.
charge of high treason
Like the African Union, the European Union and the United Nations, ECOWAS is calling for the immediate release of the rightful President Bazoum, who has been under house arrest since the coup. However, the military junta had recently declared that it wanted to bring charges against him for high treason.
Bazoum’s 2021 election marked the first democratic transfer of power in Niger, which has seen the military stage four coups since independence from France in 1960. German soldiers are also currently stationed in Niger to ensure stability as part of a European Union mission. A possible military operation by the Ecowas in Niger has fueled fears of further destabilization in the Sahel region.
“Nothing will happen to him”
Meanwhile, the new rulers in Niger were sending a signal of strength. Thousands of volunteers gathered outside a stadium in central Niamey on Saturday morning. Several organizations had previously called for people to register as civilian helpers who could be mobilized to support the army.
Meanwhile, the military-appointed new Prime Minister of Niger, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, citing international concerns, has given assurances that the imprisoned President is not in any danger. “Nothing will happen to him because we have no tradition of violence in Niger,” Zeine told the New York Times.
Recently, concerns about Bazoum’s health had increased. The New York Times reported that the president’s home, where he has been held captive since his fall, was cut off from electricity and water. In addition, the new rulers threatened to kill him if ECOWAS tried to bring him back to power through military intervention.