Niger Welcomes Mali & Burkina Faso Troops
Niger’s military officers said they would allow Burkina Faso and Mali’s armies to intervene, should ECOWAS – a group of West African countries , mostly former French colonies – plan a forceful intervention in the country.
ECOWAS has planned to intervene militarily in Niger in order to reinstate the country’s democratically elected President, Mohamed Bazoum as he was deposed following a coup on July 26.
The foreign ministers of Burkina Faso and Mali, Olivia Rouamba and Abdoulaye Diop, visited Niger’s capital city, Niamey on August 24, according to the AFP, August 25.
They were received by the country’s new leader General Abdourahamane Tiani as military officers in the West African nation appointed Mr. Tiani as the new leader.
Bazoum was elected in 2021 prior to a failed coup attempt.
Whilst many ECOWAS nations have called on a military intervention in Niger if Bazoum was not reinstated, Burkina Faso and Mali have stood in defiance. Juntas in the two West African countries have stated that any military intervention in neighbouring Niger would be a “declaration of war”.
READ: ECOWAS and France unite to bolster Niger attack plan
Orders were signed by Niger’s new ruler which would allow Mali and Burkina Faso to “to intervene on Niger territory in the event of aggression”.
The Sahel region in general has been a victim of an array of coups. Mali’s most recent coup took place in 2021 when current President, Assimi Goita, who led the coup, captured President Bah N’daw. This led to the country being suspended by ECOWAS.
READ: Gunmen kill 21 civilians in central Mali
Insecurity in the Sahel region prevails as 21 were killed by gunmen in Mali as the country still experiences violent scenes and continues to battle against violent extremist groups with links to prominent terrorist organistations.
Burkina Faso’s latest coup d’etat came in September 2022 as the then President, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba was deposed by a junta.
The region has experienced growing Russian influence as some have claimed that the Kremlin were behind Niger’s recent coup.
AFP
