Pressure is mounting on Niger’s putschists hours ahead of a deadline later Sunday set by a group of West African countries for the military to step down or face a possible military intervention.
ECOWAS, a bloc of 15 Western African countries, issued its ultimatum after Niger’s top military officers announced on July 27 that they had overthrown the country’s President Mohamed Bazoum, who was democratically elected in 2021. According to France 24, the deadline expires on Sunday evening; Reuters reported ECOWAS did not communicate the exact timing.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said late Saturday that his country opposes any military intervention in Niger.
“A military intervention could ignite the whole Sahel region and Algeria will not use force with its neighbors,” Tabboune was quoted as saying in an interview with local media.
Several Western leaders have also pressed for dialogue, with Germany advocating for continued “mediation efforts.”
The Italian government on Sunday said it had reduced the number of troops Italy has in Niger to make room in its military base for civilians who may need protection from a fragile security situation. Italy’s Defense Ministry said a military plane took off from the capital of Niamey and landed in Rome late on Saturday with 65 Italian soldiers, as well as 10 U.S. soldiers, according to a Reuters report.
The airlift was arranged to increase the “logistical autonomy” of the Italian military base, “optimizing its accommodation capacity, if it becomes necessary to take in civilian compatriots and, in an emergency, evacuate them,” the ministry said.
In Nigeria, senior politicians on Saturday urged Bola Tinubu, ECOWAS’s chair and the president of Nigeria, to reconsider the threatened intervention and first look into alternative options.
A number of Western African armies, including Senegal and the Ivory Coast, have said they are ready to send soldiers. Mali and Burkina Faso — both led by junta governments — have said they will support their neighbor Niger, arguing that any military intervention would be considered a “declaration of war” against them.
Niger’s military junta has asked for help from the Russian mercenary group Wagner, according to reports by France 24 and the Associated Press.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Saturday backed efforts to reverse the coup, following a meeting in Paris with Niger’s Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou and its Ambassador to France, Aïchatou Boulama Kané.
France “firmly and resolutely supports the efforts of ECOWAS to thwart this attempted putsch,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “The future of Niger and the stability of the entire region are at stake,” the ministry said.
