Mali, Burkina Faso, and Russia against ECOWAS military participation in Niger crisis

Any military action in Niger to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum will be viewed as a “declaration of war against their two countries,” Burkina Faso and Mali have threatened.

A day after West African leaders, backed by their Western allies, vowed to use “force” to restore the democratically elected Bazoum and imposed financial sanctions on the putschists, the country’s military-ruled neighbors issued the warning.

The governments of Mali and Burkina Faso issued a joint statement cautioning that “any military intervention against Niger would be tantamount to a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali.”

They stated the “disastrous consequences of a military intervention in Niger… could destabilise the entire region.”

The “illegal, illegitimate, and inhumane sanctions against the people and authorities of Niger” are something they “refuse to apply,” according to their statement.

This occurred concurrently with the Economic Community of West African States receiving advice from the Russian Federation against the use of military force to resolve the Niger problem.

Mr. Alexei Shebarshin, the Russian ambassador to Nigeria, suggested using constitutional measures to bring peace back to the West African nation.

In a short response, the Russian ambassador said, “Russia opposes a military solution to the conflict, Russia has no plans to use its armed forces in Niger. The people of Niger should solve their problems independently in a constitutional manner without any resort to force or threat to use it.”

At an emergency summit on Sunday, ECOWAS demanded that Bazoum be reinstated within a week, failing which it would take “all measures” to restore constitutional order.

“Such measures may include the use of force for this effect,” it said in a statement.

Financial sanctions were also imposed by the bloc on the leaders of the junta and the nation, prohibiting “all commercial and financial transactions” between its member states and Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries that frequently comes in last on the UN Human Development Index.

Femi Falana, a human rights attorney, meanwhile urged the Economic Community of West African States to censure the military regime rather than target the Niger Republic as a whole.

He said, “Apart from suspending Niger from ECOWAS, the leaders of the sub-regional body should refrain from attending international conferences with coup plotters as was recently witnessed during the recently concluded Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg, Russia.”

Falana made the calls in a paper titled “Unconstitutional Change of Governments: the Role of Bar Associations”, delivered today at a 2-day conference of the West African Bar Association in Accra, Ghana.

Niger’s junta on Monday accused France of seeking to “intervene militarily” to reinstate Bazoum, which French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna denied, according to AFP.

“It’s wrong,” Colonna told France’s BFM news channel of the allegation, adding it was still “possible” to return the president to power.

“And it’s necessary because destabilisation is perilous for Niger and its neighbours,” she said Monday evening.

Following a gathering of hundreds outside the French embassy in Niamey, French President Emmanuel Macron promised “immediate and uncompromising” action if French persons or interests were harmed on Sunday. Tear gas was used to scatter those who attempted to enter the compound.

Russia has demanded that “the rule of law” and “restraint from all parties” be restored to Niger as soon as possible.

Macron has had multiple conversations with Bazoum and other regional leaders, according to the Paris presidential palace.

In the meantime, following a military coup in the African nation, the foreign minister of Italy announced on Tuesday that the government would set up a special flight to bring back citizens from Niamey, the capital of Niger.

“The Italian government has decided to offer our fellow citizens in Niamey the chance to leave the city on a special flight to Italy,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani posted on the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

In remarks sent to Reuters via his office, Tajani said the Italian embassy remained open and the ambassador was returning to Niger from Rome where she went for the U.N. Food Systems summit last week.

Also, France prepared to evacuate hundreds of French and European citizens from Niger on Tuesday, a day after neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso said any outside intervention to restore the ousted government would be seen as a declaration of war, a report by global news agency, Reuters said on Tuesday.