West African countries have imposed sanctions and threatened to use force against Niger’s coup leaders if Mohammed Bazoum is not reinstated within a week, writes Reuters.
The response from the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc to the seventh coup in the Sahel region comes as crowds in Niger’s capital burned French flags.
Meeting in an emergency summit in Niger to discuss the coup, ECOWAS called for the restoration of constitutional order and warned of consequences if this did not happen.
The official statement said that the measures could also include the use of force.
ECOWAS and the African Economic and Monetary Union said it was immediately closing its borders with Niger, canceling commercial flights, suspending financial operations, freezing assets, and ending aid. Also, the assets of Niger’s military leaders will be frozen and they will be banned from traveling.
The prime minister of the Bazoum government has stated that the ECOWAS sanctions will have catastrophic consequences
as the country relies heavily on international partners to meet its financial needs.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed support for ECOWAS and said that the US join ECOWAS and regional leaders in calling for the immediate release of President Mohammed Bazoum and his family, and the return of governance to a democratically elected government.
Similar ECOWAS sanctions have already been applied to Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea in the past three years following coups. Although financial sanctions led to debt defaults, particularly in Mali, they hurt civilians more than the military leaders who seize power in the world’s poorest countries.
The military coup in Niger began on the 26th of July, and it has been condemned by neighboring countries
and international partners, who have refused to recognize the new leaders of Niger.
Niger has been a key Western ally in the fight against al-Qaeda and Islamic State in the Sahel region, and there are now fears that the military coup will open the door to Russian influence in the region. Thousands of French soldiers left them after coups in neighboring countries.
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, which, according to the information provided by the World Bank, annually receives around two billion dollars for development support. At the same time, Niger is the world’s seventh-largest producer of uranium, used in the military industry and medicine.
At the call of the coup plotters, thousands of protesters demonstrated in the capital, and some even went to the French embassy. One protester said that they are there to express displeasure with France’s interference in Niger’s affairs.
Some protesters tried to climb the walls of the embassy, while others burned and trampled French flags.
They were dispersed by the Niger National Guard. France has condemned the outbreak of violence and said any attack on its interests or citizens would face a swift and decisive response.
Meanwhile, the owner of the Wagner Group, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who continues to operate despite the failed coup in June, hailed the coup as good news and offered his mercenary help to maintain order.
Read also: Coup attempt ongoing in Niger