Hundreds of citizens with Russian and Nigerian flags showed their support for the military junta and their opposition to ECOWAS sanctions in Niamey (Niger) this Sunday, August 20. ISSIFOU DJIBO (EFE)
Armed terrorist groups operating in Niger have escalated their violence since the July 26 coup d’état. In just three weeks they have claimed more than a hundred lives, including around 30 soldiers. One of the arguments put forward by the coup leaders for taking power was the failure of the fight against jihadism and the need to refocus it, but the policy of dialogue, community negotiations and the reintegration of terrorists, instituted by ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, gave way first Results showed a decline in jihadist attacks in 2022 and 2023. In the three weeks following the military coup, this momentum seemed to have broken.
The attacks were carried out by the two branches of al-Qaeda and Islamic State operating in the Tillabéri region of Niger, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and the Islamic State Province of the Sahel (ISSP). The bloodiest event occurred near Ayorou on August 15, when the ISSP attacked three villages, killing at least 50 civilians. On the same day, JNIM carried out an ambush against a military convoy near Kotougou, killing 17 soldiers and stealing military equipment. The other attacks occurred in Wabila and Hondobon, near Anzourou, Bourkou Bourkou and Sanam.
“It is clear that there has been an intensification of jihadist violence since the coup,” says Bakary Sambe, director of the Timbuktu Institute, a research center specializing in terrorism in the Sahel. “There have been more deaths in three weeks than since Bazoum took power in 2021. Terrorist groups are exploiting the instability and vacuum created by the military takeover. Security officials now sit on the sofas of power in Niamey [la capital del país] And that is being exploited by armed groups,” adds the expert.
After a steady increase since 2018, deaths from jihadist violence in Niger fell in 2022 and 2023, NGO Acled says in a report published on Aug. 3. This decline was particularly evident this year. “In the first months of 2023, political violence fell by 39% compared to the previous six months from July to December 2022. Attacks on civilians fell by 49% and resulting deaths fell by 16%. However, deployments by Nigerian security forces have increased by 32% as part of their continued efforts to counter insecurity,” says Acled.
At the same time as he was fighting jihadist violence, Bazoum had launched a number of initiatives that included promoting local community-to-community peace agreements, development projects for areas most affected by violence, negotiations with the heads of Nigerian nationality Katibas, and programs to terrorist reintegration and the so-called peace caravans to persuade communities to cooperate with the authorities and turn their backs on armed groups. This strategy had met with criticism in Niger, particularly from the defense and security forces, but was welcomed by both its international partners and local communities.
Rejection of ECOWAS
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On the other hand, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has expressed its opposition to the three-year transition proposal announced on Saturday by General Tchiani, the leader of Nigeria’s military junta. This regional body considers the military’s proposals “unacceptable” and constitutes “a smoke screen”. ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, called on the military junta to “release Bazoum without preconditions and the constitutional.” restore order without further delay,” he told Portal.
Likewise, after a week of intense debate, the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council published its position on Niger and limited itself to “noting” ECOWAS’ decision to station a military force in Niger. without expressing its express support for such a measure. However, it has expressed its “solidarity” with that organization’s diplomatic efforts and its firm support for the “peaceful restoration of constitutional order.” The AU has suspended Niger from all its organs and insisted on its opposition to the coup. She also called on all countries and forces outside the African continent to refrain from intervening in the crisis.
This Monday, Algerian public broadcaster reported that the government of Algeria, a country that shares about 950 kilometers of border with Niger, has rejected a request by the French government to use its airspace as part of a possible military intervention in Niger . According to Radio Algeria, the Algerian executive’s response to a French request to fly over its airspace was “firm and unequivocal”.
In addition, Turkey joins the list of countries that, like Algeria itself or Russia, have expressed their opposition to military intervention. This Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured the media: “I do not share ECOWAS’ decision to intervene militarily in Niger.” Following this decision, Mali and Burkina Faso warned that such an intervention would lead to war. A military intervention in Niger would make many countries in Africa unstable.”
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