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🔴 Live: Niger junta says scrapping military pacts with France
Niger’s coup leaders on Thursday said they were scrapping military pacts made between Niamey and France. They also announced they were ending the mandates of ambassadors to four countries as they face international pressure to restore the democratically elected leader they ousted last week. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
Issued on: 04/08/2023 – 01:56
4 min
Protesters gather in front of the French Embassy in Niamey during a demonstration that followed a rally in support of Niger’s junta in Niamey on July 30, 2023.
Protesters gather in front of the French Embassy in Niamey during a demonstration that followed a rally in support of Niger’s junta in Niamey on July 30, 2023. © AFP
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FRANCE 24
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01:45am: Niger junta to respond ‘immediately’ to any ‘aggression’ by West Africa bloc
Niger’s newly installed junta said it would respond immediately to any “aggression or attempted aggression” against it by West African countries, three days before the expiry of an ultimatum to restore order given by regional bloc ECOWAS.
“Any aggression or attempted aggression against the State of Niger will see an immediate and unannounced response from the Niger Defence and Security Forces on one of (the bloc’s) members, with the exception of suspended friendly countries,” declared one of the putschists in a statement, alluding to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali.
01:30am: Niger junta ends mandates of US, France, Nigeria and Togo ambassadors
Niger’s coup leaders on Thursday evening announced they were ending the mandates of ambassadors to four countries, as they face international pressure to restore the democratically elected leader they ousted last week.
“The functions of the extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassadors of the Republic of Niger” to France, Nigeria, Togo and the United States “are terminated”, one of the putschists said in a statement read on national television.
01:25am: Niger’s ousted president calls for restoration of his government
Elected Niger President Mohamed Bazoum said Thursday that if a coup attempt to depose him is successful, “it will have devastating consequences for our country, our region and the entire world.”
In a column in The Washington Post, Bazoum called on “the US government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order.”
The appeal was Bazoum’s first lengthy statement since his presidential guard detained him on July 26 and took control of the Niger government.
“I write this as a hostage,” Bazoum wrote.
“Niger is under attack from a military junta… and I am just one of hundreds of citizens who have been arbitrarily and illegally imprisoned.”
“This coup must end, and the junta must free everyone they have unlawfully arrested,” he wrote.
“In Africa’s troubled Sahel region, Niger stands as the last bastion of respect for human rights amid the authoritarian movements that have overtaken some of our neighbors,” he wrote.
He warned that Niger’s neighbors have increasingly invited in “criminal Russian mercenaries such as the Wagner Group at the expense of their people’s rights and dignity.”
“The entire Sahel region,” he said, “could fall to Russian influence via the Wagner Group, whose brutal terrorism has been on full display in Ukraine.”
Terrorist movements like Boko Haram, he added, “will surely take advantage of Niger’s instability, using our country as a staging ground to attack neighboring countries and undermine peace, safety and freedom around the world.”
01:15am: Niger junta says scrapping military pacts with France
Niger’s junta on Thursday said it was scrapping military pacts made between Niamey and France, following last week’s coup.
“Faced with France’s careless attitude and its reaction to the situation”, the “National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland decided to scrap the cooperation agreements in the field of security and defence with this state,” one of the putschists said in a statement read out on television late on Thursday.
12:06am: Niger ambassador to US warns coup could destabilise region
Niger’s junta must “come to reason” and return power to ousted President Mohamed Bazoum before the country and the wider region collapse, Niamey’s ambassador to Washington said Thursday.
“If Niger collapses, the entire Sahel will collapse, will be destabilized,” Ambassador Kiari Liman-Tinguiri told AFP in an interview on Niger’s independence day, as the future of Western economic and security aid hang in the balance for the landlocked West African country facing multiple conflicts with violent extremists.
“The junta should come to reason, realize that this affair cannot succeed, and prevent useless, inevitable suffering for our people and hand back power,” said Liman-Tinguiri, who remains a recognized diplomat in Washington and considers himself a representative of the “legitimate” President Bazoum, detained by his guards since late last month.
Key events in Niger so far:
Niger’s elected president Mohamed Bazoum has been held by the military since July 26, in the third coup in as many years to topple an elected leader in the Sahel.
The head of Niger’s powerful presidential guard, General Abdourahamane Tiani, has declared himself the country’s new leader.
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Tiani said the putsch was a response to “the degradation of the security situation” linked to jihadist bloodshed, as well as corruption and economic woes.
Former colonial ruler France and the European Union have suspended security cooperation and financial aid to Niger following the coup, while the United States warned that its aid could also be at stake.
At an emergency summit on Sunday the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave Tiani one week to reinstate the country’s democratically elected president and have threatened to use force if the demands aren’t met.
France has denied accusations from Niger’s coup leaders that Paris is plotting to intervene militarily, with Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna telling FRANCE 24 that “France’s only priority is the safety of our nationals”.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
