News Guide Africa

Tag: Niger coup

  • ECOWAS military chiefs meet in Ghana…amidst disagreement with AU on use of force in Niger 

     

     

    Adnan Adams Mohammed

     

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU) appeared to disagree on whether a military action should be on the table in the first place.

     

    This is coming at a time ECOWAS military heads are meeting in Accra, Ghana to deliberate on the road map for possible military intervention in Niger starting today, August 17, 2023.

     

    ECOWAS decision to release a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger has met a strong opposition by many stakeholders in the West African region.

     

    The meeting of the top brass comes after fresh violence in the insurgent-hit country, with jihadists killing at least 17 soldiers from an army detachment in a “terrorist ambush” near a border with Burkina Faso, according to the Defense Ministry’s statement. More than 100 “assailants” traveling on motorbikes were “neutralized” during their retreat, the army said.

     

    But after AU’s Peace and Security Council, in a Monday meeting in Addis Ababa, reportedly rejected the ECOWAS proposal to stage a military intervention in Niger, it appears the two regional groupings are at odds over whether the crisis should be resolved by military means.

     

    A diplomat who attended the meeting told the media that many southern and northern African member countries were “fiercely against any military intervention.”

     

    Since the AU Council had not by Wednesday issued a joint statement on the bloc’s stance, the AU is “probably waiting to hear what ECOWAS’ decision is going to be” at the conclusion of the two-day meeting in Ghana, said Andrew Tchie, senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

     

    The ECOWAS meeting also comes amid reports from Nigeria’s capital, Niamey, that its residents are calling for the mass recruitment of volunteers to assist the army face possible ECOWAS Intervention.

  • Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso support Niger coup…warn against any foreign military intervention

    Niger coup leaders

    Adnan Adams Mohammed

     

    Mali and Burkina Faso military Juntas have declared support to the coup leaders in Niamey, Niger.

     

    By this, they are tactically protecting and instituting a new era of military leaders across the Francophone subsaharan region.

     

    In a statement issued in response to resolutions of the ECOWAS Head of States emergency meeting held on Saturday, Mali affirmed that, they stand together with Burkina Faso to defend Niger and further warned that any foreign military intervention in Niamey will be considered a declaration of war on both nations with Niger.

     

    “I warn that any military intervention against Niger will be considered as a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali,” Col. Abdoulaye Maiga, State Minister for Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Mali military government juxtaposed.

     

    The announcement was in response to the outcome of a summit by regional bloc ECOWAS that gave a 7-day deadline to Niger’s coup leaders to free detained president Mohamed Barzoum and restore civilian rule or face consequences, with military force an option being considered.

     

    Mali further denounced the persistent sanctions by the ECOWAS upon the three countries terming the illegal.

     

    “The transitional governments of Burkina Faso and Mali, One: have expressed their fraternal solidarity of the people of Mali and Burkina Faso with their brothers in Niger who have decided of their own accord to take their destiny in hand and to assume their sovereignty. Two: Denounce the persistence of the regional organisations to apply sanctions that aggravate the suffering of the population and imperil the spirit of PanAfricanism. Three: Refuse to apply these illegal, illegitimate and inhumane sanctions against the Nigerien people and authorities,” said Col. Abdoulaye Maiga. The declaration came from Col. Abdoulaye Maiga, State minister for Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Mali junta, who spoke on the state television network ORTM.

     

    The nations are run by military governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.

     

     

  • Niger junta to face tough time as Nigeria cuts electricity supply

    Adnan Adams Mohammed

     

    Information just received indicates that Nigeria has cut electricity supply to Niger following coup d’etat.

     

    The power cut to Niger is one of the blows the ECOWAS bloc plans to hit at the military junta to deter them to release power to civilian administration.

    Niger junta suffer power cut from Nigeria

    The coup d’etat, which has ignited fear in many ECOWAS Heads of State as they feel threatened and uncertain of their fate and also shaken the root of France emperial colonialism on the Francophone subsaharan countries.

     

    However, many have reacted to the power cut as they feel Nigeria is making a hasty big mistake as their hydroelectricity generation dam source its water from Niger.

     

    “Nigeria has a joint agreement with Niger to provide electricity in exchange that the upstream neighbor will not obstruct the flow of water to the country’s hydroelectric Dams in Jebba, Kainji, Niger State”, a Twitter page by name Official Papa Lily commented. “Our power generation will drop, if Niger reacts to this power outage.”

     

     

    Below are some tweets:

     

    The Egalitarian

    “They don’t know because they don’t read. After the war, Niger will build a big dam and release water as it pleases downstream. Either as flood or in trickles. Niger will loose.”

     

    Chief Numso

    “If Niger Dams the Kanji Dam we are actually finished, we are actually making a mistake we will regret badly.”

     

    Yussif Nasir Ahmad

    “It is finally time for them to start thinking inwards. They should invest in their capacity to generate electricity for themselves. So that Nigeria will supply Nigerians the electricity for Nigerians to use. Already, the energy supply in Nigeria is below deficit.”