Pressure mounts on Niger coup leaders as deadline nears

Pressure on the leaders of a coup in Niger mounted Saturday on the eve of a west African bloc’s deadline for the military to relinquish control or face possible armed intervention.

Former colonial power France, with which the junta broke military ties shortly after taking power, said it would “firmly” back whatever course of action the ECOWAS bloc took after the expiration of the Sunday deadline.

Military chiefs from the grouping said they had agreed a plan for a possible intervention to respond to the crisis, the latest of several coups to hit Africa’s Sahel region since 2020.

“All the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out,” ECOWAS commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah said after the talks finished.

These included “the resources needed, and including the how and when we are going to deploy the force”, he added.

“We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message clearly transmitted to them (the junta) that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done,” Musah said.

Paris said “the future of Niger and the stability of the entire region are at stake” as tension ratchet up over the future of one of the world’s poorest countries.

Niger played a key part in Western strategies to combat a jihadist insurgency that has plagued the Sahel since 2012, with France and the United States stationing around 1,500 and 1,000 troops in the country, respectively.

Anti-French sentiment in the region is on the rise, while Russian activity, often through the Wagner mercenary group, has grown. Russia has warned against armed intervention from outside.

– Meeting force with force –
The junta has warned it would meet force with force.

Mali and Burkina Faso, where military juntas have taken power since 2020, have warned any regional intervention would be tantamount to a “declaration of war” against them.