The crisis unleashed in West Africa by the coup in Niger moves between attempts at dialogue to reverse the situation and the search for allies for the parties involved. Thus, a delegation of the coup leaders who took power on July 26 traveled this Saturday to Guinea-Conakry, where they met with the leader of the military junta at the head of that country, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, the media reported this Sunday. local. The delegation headed by the Nigerien General Moussa Salaou Barmou was received by Doumbouya and other senior officials of the Government of Guinea-Conakry, which has positioned itself against the possible use of force to evict the mutineers in Niger by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). “We are pan-Africans. When our peoples face problems, we are always present, and always will be. This has been the case with our brothers in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger”, declared the Guinean transitional president. Barmou thanked him for his support.
In parallel, a delegation of religious leaders from Nigeria, chaired by ECOWAS, stated this Sunday that they had held “fruitful” discussions on a visit to Niamey, where they were able to meet, among others, with the head of the coup, Abdourahamane Tchiani. “I can say that the discussion was fruitful and, to a certain extent, they are [la junta] open to dialogue”, said Sheikh Abdul Rhaman Ahmad, chief imam of the Ansar Ud Deen Society of Nigeria (a Muslim organization), assuring that he had been able to “reach some agreements with them”. The religious leader has not given further details, waiting to communicate the results to the president of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The regional bloc continues to seek diplomatic channels to reverse the coup, while maintaining the threat of military intervention. Cedeao said on Saturday that it intended to send a parliamentary commission to meet with the coup leaders, who already rejected a similar meeting last week.
The junta that runs Guinea-Conakry stressed on July 31 that a military intervention would lead to “the rupture de facto” of the regional bloc. He also pointed out that “the sanctions recommended by ECOWAS, including military intervention, are an option that would not be a solution to the current problem, but would cause a human disaster whose consequences could go beyond the borders of Niger.” Mali and Burkina Faso, countries in the region also controlled by military groups, have reacted in the same direction, but went further, warning in a joint communiqué that any armed intervention against the coup leaders in Niger would amount to a declaration of war against they. Both countries sent a delegation to the Niger capital, Niamey, on August 7 to express their support for the junta and show “the solidarity of the two countries to the brotherly people of Niger.”
Another delegation of the authors of the coup in Niger traveled to Bamako this Friday to meet with the head of the military regime, Colonel Assimi Goïta, after a first visit at the beginning of the month that also included the Burkinabe capital, Ouagadougou. The second trip by the Nigerian military delegation came a day after a second extraordinary summit of ECOWAS leaders in Nigeria since the coup, in which the participating countries agreed to “activate” the bloc’s “reserve force”, if well assured to continue betting on dialogue.
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Possible military actions have divided the region, with the governments of Nigeria, Benin, the Ivory Coast and Senegal on the list of those that have clearly confirmed the availability of their armies to intervene in Nigerien territory. At the other extreme, Mali and Burkina Faso oppose the use of force, while Guinea-Conakry, Algeria, Chad and Cape Verde have also shown their rejection and preference for dialogue.
The coup d’état in Niger was led on July 26 by the self-styled National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP), which announced the dismissal of the president, Mohamed Bazoum, democratically elected and detained since then, and the suspension of the Constitution . Niger has thus become the fourth country in West Africa led by a military junta, after Mali, Guinea-Conakry and Burkina Faso, where coups d’état have also taken place between 2020 and 2022. All three countries have suffered ever since. sanctions by ECOWAS. The body has also imposed economic punishments on Niamey, but the pressure has not been enough for the coup leaders to restore constitutional order.
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