“The future of Niger and the stability of the entire region are at stake,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. On Sunday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave the coup leaders one week to release and reinstate the country’s democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum. Should the junta remain in charge, the group said it would “take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order,” including using force. ECOWAS defense chiefs met in Nigeria this week to organize a collective response to the coup and plan a potential military response, which they say is a last resort.
A delegation from the bloc traveled to Niamey, Niger’s capital, to meet with coup leaders Thursday. Hours later, the junta warned on state television that any military intervention would be met with “an immediate and unannounced response by Niger’s defense and security forces.” France is Niger’s former colonial power and its intervention will not be welcomed everywhere in Niger, where pro-coup protesters have voiced anti-French sentiment.
Niger’s democratic neighbors and Western partners prior to the putsch, including France and the United States, have expressed concern that the country’s return to military rule could have broader consequences for fragile democracies in the region and in the fight against Islamist insurgencies throughout the Sahel.
