Coup backers rally in Niger as security concerns increase

As security worries grew among Western countries, thousands of people demonstrated in the capital of Niger on Thursday in favour of the coup that deposed the democratically elected government.

At the protest called to commemorate the anniversary of the west African country’s independence from France in 1960, demonstrators screamed anti-French chants while some carried enormous Russian flags in the centre of Niamey.

On Wednesday, French soldiers deployed at Niamey’s Diori Hamani International Airport in their capacity as French and other European residents.

A week after the globally denounced overthrow of elected President Mohamed Bazoum, Britain and the United States have announced the precautionary withdrawal of embassy personnel from Niger.

The immediate release of Bazoum was demanded by US President Joe Biden, who also urged the “protection of Niger’s hard-earned democracy”.

The deadline for the coup leaders to reinstate Bazoum to power within a week has passed, and ECOWAS has threatened to use military intervention as a “last resort” if they don’t comply.

Prior to Thursday’s independence protests, Paris urged the junta commanded by General Abdourahamane Tiani to “fully guarantee” the protection of embassies in Niamey. On Thursday, Paris said that it had finished its evacuation planes.

European nationals have been fleeing Niger, which has been a crucial part of French and Western strategy to defeat a jihadist insurgency that has ravaged the Sahel region since 2012.

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders on Sunday imposed trade and financial sanctions, with Nigeria cutting off the electricity supplies that account for some 70 percent of Niger’s grid.

While an ECOWAS team led by former Nigerian leader Abdulsalami Abubakar was in Niger for discussions, West African military leaders were meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, to plan a reaction.

West Africa’s leading economic and military force Nigeria, the current ECOWAS chair, has committed to take a strong stance against coups, which have been increasingly common in the region since 2020.

Junta-ruled Any military action against their neighbour would amount to a “declaration of war” against Mali and Burkina Faso, they have warned.

Russia on Wednesday called for “urgent national dialogue” in Niger and warned that threats of intervention “will not help ease tensions or calm the domestic situation”.

Bazoum, 63, was feted in 2021 after winning elections that ushered in Niger’s first-ever peaceful transition of power.

He took the helm of a country burdened by four previous coups since independence from France in 1960.

But after surviving two attempted putsches, Bazoum was overthrown on July 26 when members of his own guard detained him at the presidency.

Their commander, Tiani, has declared himself leader, but his claim has been condemned internationally.

France organised evacuation flights from Niamey following hostile demonstrations at the weekend.

But in a televised address Wednesday, Tiani said French nationals had nothing to fear, insisting they had never been subject “to the least threat”.

He rejected the international sanctions imposed in response to the coup, saying he “refused to give in to any threat”.

Western nations have taken action as the standoff between the coup plotters has grown more tense.

The US State Department “ordered the departure of non-emergency US government employees and eligible family members from Embassy Niamey”, it said Wednesday.

Germany has urged its citizens to leave, but the United States — which has 1,100 troops stationed in Niger — has opted to not evacuate all Americans for now.

Under Bazoum and his predecessor Mahamadou Issoufou, Niger has had a key role in French and Western strategies to combat a jihadist insurgency that has rampaged across the Sahel since 2012.

After joining a regional revolt in northern Mali, armed Islamists advanced into Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015 and now carry out sporadic attacks on fragile states on the Gulf of Guinea.

Countless civilians, troops and police have been killed across the region, while around 2.2 million people in Burkina Faso alone have fled their homes.

The impact has contributed to army takeovers in all three Sahel countries and inflicted devastating damage to economies at the very bottom of the world’s wealth table.

France’s anti-jihadist Burkina Faso mission had at its peak about 5,400 troops, supported by fighter jets, helicopters and drones.

But the mission was refocused on Niger last year, when France pulled out of Mali and Burkina Faso after falling out with their juntas.

Today, the reconfigured force has around 1,500 men, many of them deployed at an air base near Niamey.

(With agency inputs)