Defence heads from west Africa’s regional political and security bloc have said a military intervention in junta-ruled Niger was “the last resort”, as European countries continued to evacuate foreign nationals after last week’s coup against its democratically elected president.
The 15-nation regional bloc Ecowas – the Economic Community of West African States – has threatened to use force to put down the coup in Niger after giving an ultimatum to those behind it to restore Mohamed Bazoum as president and reinstate the constitution and democratic institutions.
Nigeria’s chief of staff has said the threat of military intervention was serious. “We are ready, and as soon as we receive the order to intervene, we will do so,” Christopher Musa told Radio France Internationale’s Hausa service on Monday.
Speaking in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, at the start of a three-day meeting, the Ecowas commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, said the threat of military action should be seen as a last resort designed to stiffen negotiations with the military junta.
“The military option is the very last option on the table, the last resort, but we have to prepare for the eventuality. There is a need to demonstrate that we cannot only bark but can bite,” he told reporters in Abuja.
Envoys from Ecowas, led by the former Nigerian president Abdulsalami Abubakar, were sent to Niger’s capital, Niamey.
The response by Ecowas – and Nigeria, the bloc’s key power – is considered to be a key test for the grouping amid a spate of coups in the region, Russian-sponsored interference and growing jihadist insurgency, which members fear could spill over borders.
The UN special envoy for west Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Santos Simão, told a virtual briefing late on Tuesday that “different member states are preparing themselves to use force if necessary”.
The M62 Movement, a local activist group that supports the coup, called for Niamey residents to “mobilise” and block the airport until foreign military forces left the country.
Niger – an impoverished country despite being one of the world’s largest sources of uranium – is seen by the US and European allies as a key base in the struggle against armed jihadist groups in the Sahel, with foreign forces based there.
Russia called for “urgent national dialogue” in Niger on Wednesday and said threats of intervention were unhelpful. “It’s very important to prevent a further deterioration of the situation in the country,” a foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, told reporters.
Amid a growing sense of crisis, foreign nationals queued outside an airport in Niger’s capital before dawn on Wednesday morning to wait for a French military evacuation flight.
One passenger, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said they had tried to shield their children from what was happening, telling them “just that they’re going home”. The passenger said they feared reprisal attacks against civilians if Niger’s regional neighbours followed through on threats to intervene militarily.
On Wednesday, 350 French nationals were flown home after France, Italy and Spain announced emergency repatriations in response to the coup.
James Cleverly, the UK foreign secretary, tweeted from neighbouring Nigeria on Wednesday evening that the first group of British nationals had safely left Niger on a French flight. “To resolve the situation in Niger, the UK is clear in our support of an African and ECOWAS led resolution. This week I’ve spoken with the presidents of Ghana and Nigeria to support this,” he said.
The US has yet to announce plans for an evacuation, but some of its citizens have left with the help of European nations. An official said a final decision on evacuating some staff and families from the US embassy was pending but likely.
Niger is a key western ally in a fight against Islamist insurgents. Foreign powers have condemned the takeover, fearing it could allow the militants to gain ground.
France’s first two flights also evacuated people from Niger and at least 10 other countries, the French foreign ministry said. The Paris airport authority said two more evacuation flights were scheduled to land on Wednesday afternoon.
An Italian military aircraft landed in Rome on Wednesday with 99 passengers, including 21 Americans and civilians from other countries.
Bazoum was overthrown on 26 July when members of his guard detained him at the presidency with their leader, Gen Abdourahamane Tiani, who declared himself head of state.
Ecowas threatened the use of force against the junta if it did not release and reinstate the president within a week, an ultimatum immediately rejected by neighbouring Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, all of which are run by mutinous soldiers who toppled their governments.
Mali and Burkina Faso’s leaders said a military intervention in Niger “would be tantamount to a declaration of war” against them.
With those countries struggling to quell jihadist insurgencies within their own borders, it was not clear what effective opposition they could mount against an Ecowas mission.
However, at a virtual UN meeting on Tuesday night, the UN special envoy for west Africa and the Sahel said non-military efforts were underway to restore democracy in Niger. “One week can be more than enough if everybody talks in good faith, if everybody wants to avoid bloodshed,” said Simão. But, he added, “different member states are preparing themselves to use force if necessary”.
Others in the diplomatic community insist the use of force is a real option. A western diplomat in Niamey, who did not want to be identified for security reasons, said Ecowas is resolved to use military force after economic and travel sanctions had failed to roll back other coups.
