Niger junta threatens to kill deposed President Bazoum if ECOWAS intervenes militarily
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US official confirms plans by Niger Junta to Kill ousted President Bazoum if ECOWAS countries attempted any military intervention
US official confirms plans by Niger Junta to Kill ousted President Bazoum if ECOWAS countries attempted any military intervention.
Niger’s junta told a top US diplomat that they would kill deposed President Mohamed Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule, two Western officials told The Associated Press.
Representatives of the junta told US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum during her visit to the country, a Western military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
A US official confirmed that account, also speaking on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
“Still, this junta has escalated its moves so quickly that it’s possible they do something more extreme, as that has been their approach so far,” she cautioned.
Bazoum, who was deposed on July 26, says he is being held hostage at his residence.
The regional ECOWAS bloc said Thursday it had directed the deployment of a “standby force” to restore democracy in Niger after the coup.
However, ECOWAS officials gave few details and failed to spell out the make-up, location, and proposed date of deployment for any military intervention force.
West African heads of state met in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to discuss next steps after Niger military junta defied their deadline of Sunday to reinstate Bazoum but analysts say the bloc may be running out of options as support fades for a military intervention.
Nine of the 11 heads of state expected to attend were present, including the presidents of Senegal, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone. The non-ECOWAS leaders of Mauritania and Burundi also participated in the closed-door meeting.
“It is crucial that we prioritize diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the bedrock of our approach,” said Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who currently chairs the bloc, said before the closed part of the meeting. He said leaders must act with a “sense of urgency,” though appeared to retreat from the bloc’s earlier threat to use force.
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Niger was seen as the last country in the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert that Western nations could partner with to counter extremist violence linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS that has killed thousands and displaced millions of people.
The international community is scrambling to find a peaceful solution to the country’s leadership crisis.
“Let me tell you, any coup that has succeeded beyond 24 hours has come to stay. So, as it is, they are speaking from the point of strength and advantage,” said Oladeinde Ariyo, a security analyst in Nigeria. “So, negotiating with them will have to be on their terms.”
West Africa’s regional bloc has failed to stem past coups throughout the region. Niger is the fourth country in the 15-member state bloc to have experienced a coup in the last three years.
The bloc has imposed harsh economic and travel sanctions.
But as the junta becomes more entrenched, the options for negotiations are becoming limited, said Andrew Lebovich, a research fellow with the Clingendael Institute.
“It’s very difficult to say what might come out of it, but the fact that the initial deadline passed without intervention and that the (junta) has continued to hold a fairly firm line, indicate that they think they can outlast this pressure,” he said.
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