Niger coup: Residents brace for worst as deadline of military action by West African nations arrives

The situation in West Africa remains with the arrival of the Sunday deadline for the Niger coup leaders. The Western African countries threatened military action against junta leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani if the country's ousted President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated by Sunday. Now, as per the reports from Associated Press, some countries in the regional bloc called ECOWAS are dragging their steps and vouching for a more peaceful method to diffuse the situation.

Associated Press analysis mentions the take of Nigeria's Senate on Saturday which urged its President to explore options other than military ones. Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the current chair of ECOWAS where decisions are taken by consensus with member states.

Moreover, any military action against Niger is likely to create more chaos in the region, and two non-ECOWAS countries Algeria and Chad with strong militaries have warned against any military action against the Niger coup leader and have said any such action will be a “declaration of war” against them too.

Niger junta contacting Wagner Group

The Niger junta is preparing for possible military action with hundreds of youth in Niger joining the security forces and keeping a close watch on the activities in the country. The junta leadership of Niger has also contacted the Russian mercenary group- Wagner for assistance against possible military action by other countries.

“I'm here to support the military. We are against (the regional bloc). We will fight to the end. We do not agree with what France is doing against us. We are done with colonization,” Associated Press report quoted Ibrahim Nudirio, one of the residents on patrol.

The coup in Niger is a setback for larger Western efforts against Islamic extremism in Africa. Former US special envoy for West Africa's Sahel region, Peter Pham believes that the one-week deadline by ECOWAS was too much and a 48-hour deadline was enough. “Now it's dragged out, which gives the junta time to entrench itself,” he said.

Economic turmoil is brewing 

Apart from the threats of military action, the situation is going to get worse for the junta leadership of Niger as economic woes will start emerging in one of the poorest countries of the world. The ECOWAS member countries have imposed economic sanctions against Niger after which food prices are rising in the region.

Furthermore, Nigeria was the source of 90% of Niger's electricity supply which was stopped right after the coup. The humanitarian groups in the country have warned of “devastating effects” for the residents of Niger. “Just to eat is a problem for us. So if there is a war, that won't fix anything,” said Mohamed Noali, a Niamey resident patrolling the streets.

(With inputs from Associated Press)