The coup plotters in Niger gained a foothold yesterday, despite condemnation and pressure from the European Union, the United States and the UN. In a televised address, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who has commanded the presidential guard for 12 years, emerged as the architect of the putsch and a strong man in the new situation in Niamey.
Tchiani used the grandiloquent tone of the coups and asked “the partners and friends of Niger, at this crucial stage in the life of our country, to have confidence in our defense and security forces, guarantors of national unity, of the integrity of the territory and the superior interests of our nation”. “The National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland reaffirms its willingness to respect our international commitments,” he added. The coup leaders suspended the Constitution, dissolved the Government and prohibited the activity of political parties, while they called on the population to calm down. Tchiani assumed the functions of head of state.
The allusion to international commitments is of particular importance, although it was not clear whether this respect includes the maintenance of foreign bases and military, such as the French and US troops that from Niger carry out anti-jihadist operations in the Sahel. The main fear in the Western foreign ministries is that Niger will become another Russian pawn in Africa, through Wagner’s mercenaries, as has already happened in the Central African Republic, Mali and other countries. At demonstrations in Niamey on Thursday, some Russian flags appeared and a handful of people chanted anti-French slogans. It is unknown if it was something spontaneous or remote controlled.
Hours before Tchiani’s address, France, a former colonial power, still held out the hope that the coup would fail and President Mohamed Bazoum, a close ally of Paris, would be restored to power, who was received at the Elysée with all the honors , only five weeks ago. Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna said she did not see Bazoum’s ouster as final.
The deposed president already survived a coup in March 2021, when he had not yet been sworn in as head of state. Then Tchiani, who had been chosen by the previous president, was loyal to him. Now things have changed. Rumors of rebellion had existed for months.
In a statement from the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, the EU firmly condemned the coup and warned of its effects. “Any breach of the constitutional order will have consequences on the cooperation between the EU and Niger, including the immediate suspension of all budget support,” read a statement. The UN Secretary General warned that the coup “benefits only terrorist groups.” Humanitarian aid to Niger was suspended.
The French press confirmed yesterday, unanimously, that the events in Niger certify the total failure of the French strategy in the Sahel over the last ten years, where it has made a great effort in material resources and the lives of soldiers to stabilize the region, and now watch as, one after another, allied regimes fall.