Screengrab. Via Niger’s state television.
On August 18, Mali and Burkina Faso deployed warplanes to Niger to show solidarity in response to threats of military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The Niger military overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum last month. Despite receiving some public support, the military is facing pressure from the West and ECOWAS to handback control of the country.
Niger’s state television aired footage highlighting joint efforts by Mali and Burkina Faso in support of the country and the deployment of warplanes in a local air base.
“Mali and Burkina Faso turned their commitments into concrete action by deploying warplanes to respond to any attack on Niger,” it said, noting the planes were Super Tucano fighter jets.
Earlier this week, ECOWAS defense chiefs met in the Ghanaian capital Accra to fine-tune details of a potential military operation in Niger to restore Bazoum if no political solution was reached.
“We are ready to go any time the order is given,” Abdel-Fatau Musah, an ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs and security said on August 18 after the military chiefs’ meeting. “The D-Day is also decided.”
Burkina Faso and Mali, both under military rule, previously released a statement of support for the new military leadership in Niger against the planned ECOWAS military intervention.
In a last ditch effort to avoid a military confrontation, a delegation from ECOWAS arrived in Niger to hold talks with military leaders
A plane carrying the delegation landed in the capital Niamey on August 19. Niger’s governing military council confirmed the arrival of the ECOWAS representatives, headed by former Nigerian leader Abdulsalami Abubakar.
A source close to the delegation told AFP it would send “a message of firmness” to military leaders in Niger and meet Bazoum.
ECOWAS leaders say they have to take action because Niger was the fourth West African nation to witness a military takeover since 2020, following Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso. However, many observers believe that the organization’s stance is encouraged by the West, namely the United States and France who maintain forces in Niger.
It’s worth noting that Niger is the world’s seventh-largest producer of uranium. The country’s radioactive metal is mainly exported to the West.
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