Possible coup in Niger

West African nations are threatening war if the coup leaders don't step aside.

Niger coup: West African leaders threaten military intervention

West African leaders have threatened military action against Niger's junta after it took power in a coup last week.
The leaders gave the junta seven days to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum, who is being held captive.
Earlier, the junta warned it would resist any "plan of aggression against Niger" by regional or Western powers.

A statement read out after the summit said that Ecowas had "zero tolerance" for coups. The regional bloc would "take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order" if its demands were not met within a week. "Such measures may include the use of force," and military chiefs are to meet "immediately" to plan for an intervention, the statement added.

 

US RW authoritarian nightmare trying to support this without reflexively altering the spelling and pronunciation of the country.

 

Not sure if this warrants a cmon man or a funny. It's actually both. l

 

Niger is the leading edge fighting against warlords backed by Russians. It is another proxy war front and is a powder keg right now as Russian backed military is trying to take leadership of another country in the area. This is straight up Wagner using proxies and seizing control of a resource rich country to plunder it.

Will the US and France get involved or abandoned their positions there?

Army in Niger backs coup as U.S. forces in the country assess situation (nbcnews.com)

Meanwhile, U.S. forces in Niger were on restricted movements while they assess the situation, according to two U.S. defense officials who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The country, rich in natural resources, has been a key partner in the West’s fight against Islamist groups in west Africa. The U.S. has about 1,100 troops in Niger spread out at three outposts, with a primary mission of training and supporting the local Nigerien forces, specifically the Special Operations.

In a statement on Facebook, the Military Command of the Niger Armed Forces said that to “avoid a deadly confrontation between the different forces” it would “subscribe to the declaration of the Defense and Security forces” who staged the coup. The army urged the controlling force to prioritize the country's fight against terrorism and organized crime in Niger.

Air Force Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, who represents a group called the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, said in a statement that all political party activity had been suspended “until further notice.” Abdramane also said in a separate statement that France landed a A400 military transport plane at Niamey airport at 6.30 a.m. (1.30 a.m. ET), contrary to an order he issued Wednesday to close the country's borders.

 

I think Western Europe and the US must get involved. Russia and China are exerting pressure to unduly influence the powers at be in Africa that control rare earth mineral resources and agricultural lands.

 

Several articles / news reports coming out of central africa with incredibly disturbing details about cobalt mining and other rare earth materials.

Basicaly dirt poor people hand digging resources out of the ground for pitiful wages and worse - unbelievablly dangerous working conditions, all while being POISONED by the same resouces one is mining for.

All controlled by thugs, gangs and dirty pol's that have no consideration for human life. Or in short - RUSSIANS.

Very grim indeed.

 

France and West Africa need to lead

 

Niger bond sales were removed from the market. appx $50M US to help fund gubmnt there. How can Putin fund his proxy here when he is so short of capital? Is this where he spends his Indian stranded assets from oil sales to them?

I could easily see Wagner vs French and West African troops in Niger in the not too distant future?


Niger junta arrests senior politicians after coup, debt issue cancelled | Reuters
The coup in Niger followed military takeovers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso over the last two years, all of which have come amid a wave of anti-French sentiment. Both countries have turned increasingly toward Russia as an ally.
.................
The coup leaders, who have named General Abdourahamane Tiani, the former presidential guard chief, as head of state, said they overthrew Bazoum due to poor governance and discontent with the way he handled the Islamist threat.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group last week welcomed the coup in Niger, and said his forces were available to restore order.

The Kremlin said on Monday that the situation in Niger was "cause for serious concern" and called for a swift return to constitutional order.

 

That'll put the fear of God in those rebels.

 

These men were rescued after spending fourteen days on a cargo ship’s rudder | Four Nigerian men were rescued by Brazilian police after spending fourteen days on a cargo ship’s rudder. | By DW News | Facebook

Incredible

 

seems like some of the locals hate France a lot more than they hate Russia. Just wait until the get to know Wagner, the French will seem like a godsend

The Countdown to the Next Great War Has Begun in Africa (newsweek.com)

Only four days remain in the deadline established by a coalition of West African nations for Niger to return to democratic rule, a demand that has been shunned by fellow military-led Burkina Faso and Mali, who have jointly warned that any intervention would amount to a declaration of war. While conflict is far from guaranteed, the conditions for a major escalation are quickly brewing on a continent that has played host to some of the deadliest wars of the past century. Such a confrontation would have vast ramifications, not only for the peoples of the Sahel region, but far beyond, with the potential to draw in the likes of the United States, France and Russia among other invested powers.

And with Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Chair Nigerian President Bola Tinubu committed to undoing Nigerien General Abdourahamane "Omar" Tchiani's takeover of the neighboring nation last week, the threat of a confrontation looms heavy on the horizon. "Tinubu has shown firmness in terms of seeing this not go through, and Tinubu is loyal for all the strong decisions that he took in his country," he added. "So, we shouldn't underestimate his willingness to go that far, including the use of military intervention."

Maiga, who previously served as special adviser to Mali's prime minister between two military coups that occurred in that country in 2020 and 2021, was skeptical of Burkina Faso and Mali's capacity to resist such an incursion through military force, but he spoke to the urgency through which they have responded. "They suspect that, if ECOWAS were to succeed in reversing the coup in Niger, they would all be under threat of seeing ECOWAS coming to their own countries," Maiga said. "So, it's actually for their own security too and for themselves."

On the other hand, if ECOWAS fails to restore Niger's democracy and "if the coup in Niger succeeds," Maiga said, "I think that other countries should start fearing that something similar will happen to them."

 

U.S. forces under 'protection measures' as African troops deploy for Niger

The Pentagon command overseeing U.S. military operations in Africa has told Newsweek that it has been instituting measures to safeguard personnel stationed in Niger as a coalition of West African nations announced troops had been activated in an effort to restore the constitutional order in the country.

AFRICOM is monitoring the situation in Niger, and U.S. forces continue to take prudent force protection measures," a spokesperson for U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) told Newsweek.
The remarks came after the Economic Coalition of West African States (ECOWAS) announced during an emergency summit Thursday the activation of a multinational standby force in response to Nigerien Major General Abdourahamane "Omar" Tchiani's refusal to cede power back to Nigerien President Mohamad Bazoum, who was ousted in a military-led upheaval late last month.