Niger’s military rulers order French ambassador out

Niamey, Niger (AFP) – The French ambassador was given 48 hours to leave Niger by the military authorities who took over the government in July, according to a statement from Niamey’s foreign ministry on Friday.

Since the July 26 coup, relations between the new government in Niamey and many Western nations as well as the West African bloc ECOWAS have gotten worse. Immediately rejecting the order against its ambassador, the French government reiterated that it did not recognize the military leaders’ authority.

In a statement to AFP on Friday night, the French foreign ministry stated that “the putschists do not have the authority to make this request, with the ambassador’s approval coming solely from the legitimate elected Nigerien authorities.”

Days after ECOWAS threatened military intervention to undo last month’s coup, which ousted president Mohamed Bazoum, the French envoy was given an ultimatum.

Paris has always supported ECOWAS requests for Bazoum to be reinstated.

Influence from ECOWAS

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had earlier on Friday encouraged the coup leaders in Niger to change their minds and advocated for the restoration of civilian authority while stating that the use of force was still “very much on the table.”

ECOWAS seeks the quick restoration of constitutional order, in contrast to the generals that removed Bazoum who sought for a three-year transition period.

As delegates arrived in Niamey, ECOWAS said that discussions remained its top priority while preparing a standby mission for any potential “legitimate use of force” to restore democracy, should that be necessary.

“Even now, it is not too late for the military to reconsider its course of action and listen to the voice of reason as the regional leaders will not condone a coup d’etat,” ECOWAS commission president Omar Alieu Touray told reporters in Abuja.

The community’s will to stop the upswing in coup d’etats in the area is the underlying problem, according to the community. Sanctions have already been imposed on Niger by the ECOWAS to put pressure on the incoming government.

Since 2020, three other countries in the Sahel area have been overthrown by military uprisings, and jihadists now rule large portions of the region.

Leaders of ECOWAS are now in talks with military governments in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea that are all attempting to make the transition to democracy following their own coups. The new leaders of Niger have stated that they are still willing to negotiate after originally refusing.

However, they’ve given conflicting signals, threatening to accuse Bazoum of treason while he’s still being held at his official apartment with his family.

Aggression

ECOWAS is allegedly planning an invading army in collusion with an unidentified foreign nation, according to the military commanders of Niger, who have also cautioned against any interference.

On Thursday, the commanders said that in the event of an invasion, they would permit troops from Burkina Faso and Mali to intervene in Niger.

Touray, however, rejected ideas of ECOWAS “declaring war” or a “invasion” of Niger, arguing that the standby mission would be a legal force under the ECOWAS laws agreed upon by members.

“The tools include the application of force. Therefore, that is very much a possibility, just like other policies we are developing, he added. If peaceful efforts are unsuccessful, ECOWAS cannot simply give up.

However, making preparations for the potential use of military action in Niger is dangerous, and northern Nigeria, a significant participant in ECOWAS and the region, is already expressing political opposition. Algeria, Niger’s neighbor to the north, has also issued a dire warning against any action in the area.

This week, Algeria’s foreign minister Ahmed Attaf visited several West African nations in an effort to find a diplomatic solution to the problem because Algiers is adamantly opposed to using force. He stated during a visit to Benin that “there is a time for everything and we are currently in the time of finding peaceful solutions.”

“Let’s use all of our imagination to give a political solution every chance.”