Niger

The officers who took power in Niger last month said Thursday, August 24, they would authorize the armies of neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali to intervene in the country "in the event of aggression".

The AU said the suspension would remain in place until civilian rule in the country is restored, and that it would assess the implications of a military intervention in Niger.

Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani made the announcement after meeting mediators from the West African regional bloc Ecowas in the capital, Niamey. … Their delegation was led by former Nigerian military leader Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar and also included Nigeria's most senior Muslim leader, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa'adu Abubakar III.

On Friday, the ECOWAS commissioner for peace and security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, said 11 countries have committed to the deployment. … The 11 countries don't include Niger itself and the bloc's three other countries under military rule following coups: Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso.

Defence leaders from West Africa’s Ecowas bloc began meeting in Ghana on Thursday to coordinate a potential military intervention in Niger, whose president was ousted in a coup. The talks come amid disagreement between African countries over the idea of foreign military action, after Ecowas said it would prepare a standby force to restore order in Niger.

Niger's military-appointed prime minister made an unannounced visit to neighboring Chad on Tuesday as West African states set talks for mulling possible military intervention to reverse his country's coup and the United States and Russia urged a diplomatic solution.

Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian economist, will lead the 21-member government, with generals from the new military governing council heading the defense and interior ministries. The announcement came as leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc met for an emergency summit on the situation in Niger.

In a joint letter addressed to the African Union Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council, the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso and Mali, Olivia Rouamba and Abdoulaye Diop, said the extent of the consequences of military intervention “would be unpredictable.” The two countries, where the military overthrew governments in 2020 and 2022, have openly sided with the Niger junta.

A former rebel leader and politician in Niger has launched a movement opposing the military government that took power in a July 26 coup, a first sign of internal resistance to army rule in the strategically important Sahel country. In a statement seen on Wednesday, Rhissa Ag Boula said his new Council of Resistance for the Republic (CRR) aims to reinstate overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum.

The Algerian government is critical the coup in Niger but opposes any potential intervention by ECOWAS. This ambivalent stance reflects the enormous challenges the coup poses for the country.