Three days of national mourning have been declared in Niger following the deaths of 29 soldiers in a jihadist attack. The attack, “in which more than a hundred terrorists used improvised explosive devices and kamikaze vehicles,” was directed against a detachment of security forces in Tabatol, near the border with Mali, according to a Defense Ministry press release issued on Monday night , October 2nd, to Tuesday, October 3rd.
“The preliminary balance of this attack is as follows: On the friendly side, 29 soldiers fell as heroes, two were seriously injured,” the text continues, saying that “several dozen terrorists” were killed.
Niger continues to face recurring jihadist violence. This is the highest death toll since the junta came to power, which justified its July 26 coup in particular by citing the deteriorating security situation. In mid-August, seventeen soldiers were killed in an attack near the border with Burkina Faso.
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The military retains control of the calendar
This attack comes at a time when the military regime in power has agreed to explore a mediation offer from Algeria for a “political solution” to the crisis the country is experiencing. However, the Niamey government reiterated that it intends to maintain control over the political calendar and reiterated that the duration of the transition to civilian rule will be determined by an “inclusive national forum” in Niger and not by a mediator.
While Algeria, an influential neighbor, did not mention a transition period in its press release on Monday, in late August it had proposed a period of six months under the supervision of a “civil authority” headed by a figure consensual and accepted by all sides of the political class. “
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On August 19, Niger’s new strongman, General Abdourahamane Tiani, said he wanted a transition period of a maximum of three years. And on Saturday evening, in an interview on national television, he asserted that the regime “has no right to stay in power for five years.”
Complaint from Mohamed Bazoum
President-elect Mohamed Bazoum has been held at his residence along with his wife and son since his overthrow by the military in July. On Monday, his lawyers announced that they would file a complaint against the perpetrators in Niamey.
This complaint with the constitution of a civil party, consulted on Monday by Agence France-Presse (AFP), is directed against General Tiani and “all others” for “attacks and conspiracies against the authority of the State, crimes and offenses committed by were committed by officials.” arbitrary arrests and detentions.” The complaint on behalf of Mr. Bazoum, his wife and two of their children should be submitted “in the coming days” to the chief investigating judge of the Supreme Court of Niamey, according to Dominique Inchauspé, one of the lawyers interviewed by AFP.
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Mohamed Bazoum also referred the matter to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Human Rights Committee, two bodies of the United Nations Human Rights Council, these lawyers said. On September 18, he appealed to the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), denouncing in particular his “arbitrary arrest.”
In mid-August, the coup leaders announced that they would prosecute Mohamed Bazoum for “high treason” and “endangering the security” of the country.