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Niger’s President Vows to Save Democracy as Army Says It Backs Coup Niger’s President Vows to Save Democracy as Army Says It Backs Coup
(about 5 hours later)
Hours after soldiers seized power in the West African nation of Niger, the country’s ousted president sounded a defiant note on Thursday morning, vowing to protect his “hard won” democratic gains, even as he was being held by his own guards. Hours after soldiers seized power in the West African nation of Niger, the country’s ousted president sounded a defiant note on Thursday morning, vowing to protect his “hard won” democratic gains, even as he was being held hostage in the presidential palace by his own guards.
But a statement by the army high command later on Thursday poured cold water on such hopes. The army was backing the mutineers “to avoid bloodshed” and prevent infighting in the security forces, it said in a statement signed by its chief, Gen. Abdou Sidikou Issa. But his army chief poured cold water on such hopes, saying in a statement that the army was backing the mutineers to avoid bloodshed and prevent infighting among the security forces.
The president, Mohamed Bazoum, appeared to be still in detention at the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey, where his guards turned on him early Wednesday, prompting a crisis in the vast, largely desert nation twice the size of France. The military command was supporting the ouster of Mr. Bazoum “to avoid a deadly confrontation between the different forces which could provoke a blood bath and impinge on the security of the population,” Gen. Abdou Sikikou Issa, the army chief, said in the statement.
“The hard-won gains will be safeguarded,” Mr. Bazoum said in a message on social media. “All Nigeriens who love democracy and freedom would want this.” If the coup holds, it will be West Africa’s sixth military takeover in less than three years, following in the footsteps of Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso. It would also be a serious blow to democracy efforts in a region that is rapidly regaining its unwanted reputation as the “coup belt” of Africa.
If the coup succeeds, it will be West Africa’s sixth military takeover in less than three years, following in the footsteps of Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso. It would also be a serious blow to democracy efforts in a region that is regaining its unwanted reputation as the “coup belt” of Africa. Mr. Bazoum, elected two years ago in Niger’s first peaceful transfer of power, has been a key Western ally against surging Islamist militancy in the Sahel, an arid region plagued by the ravages of climate change and the failure of fragile states to provide opportunities for their exploding, youthful populations.
Mr. Bazoum has been a key Western ally in the fight against surging Islamist militancy in the arid Sahel region, which is also plagued by the ravages of climate change and the failure of fragile states to provide much for their exploding, youthful populations. By Thursday evening, 36 hours after Mr. Bazoum disappeared from public view, power still hung in the balance in Niger, although his chances of reversing the coup appeared to be receding. Earlier in the day, a huge sandstorm rolled through the deserted streets of Niamey, where businesses remained closed, adding to the sense of uncertainty.
By Thursday morning, a full 24 hours after Mr. Bazoum disappeared from public view, power still hung in the balance in Niger. A huge sandstorm rolled through the deserted streets of Niamey, where many businesses remained closed, adding to the sense of uncertainty. Some of Mr. Bazoum’s minister clung to hopes the coup could be reversed. “Everything can be achieved through dialogue,” the foreign minister, Hassoumi Massaoudou, told France24.
Along with remarks by Niger’s foreign minister, who told a television station that the army was divided, Mr. Bazoum’s morning statement suggested that the military coup announced late Wednesday was incomplete, and that Niger’s beleaguered civilian leaders still hoped they might find a way to reverse it. But the soldiers holding the president, who called themselves the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, made it clear they intended to press ahead with their plan.
“Everything can be achieved through dialogue,” the foreign minister, Hassoumi Massaoudou, told France24 television. After announcing on Wednesday that Niger’s borders would be closed, the government suspended and a nighttime curfew imposed, on Thursday the soldiers suspended all political activity in the country.
There was no sign of hesitancy from the officers holding Mr. Bazoum, however, who seemed determined to push ahead. One notable exception to that ban: Hundreds of people who gathered to support the coup-makers in front of the national Parliament — the same location where a crowd of similar size came out for Mr. Bazoum on Wednesday. Some of the coup supporters waved Russian flags. The scene was reminiscent of the January 2022 coup in neighboring Burkina Faso, where the military has have moved closer to Moscow in recent months.
On television, the group of soldiers, calling itself the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, announced that Niger’s borders would be closed, its government suspended and a nighttime curfew imposed. On Thursday, they suspended all political activity in the country. One prominent figure in Russia appeared to view the coup as an opportunity.
One notable exception to that ban were the hundreds of people who gathered before the national Parliament — the same location where a crowd of similar size came out for Mr. Bazoum on Wednesday. Some of the military supporters waved Russian flags, in scenes reminiscent of the January 2022 coup in Burkina Faso, where military rulers have moved closer to Moscow in recent months. In an audio statement, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the mercenary leader whose Wagner private military company has spearheaded the Kremlin’s push into Africa in recent years, characterized the coup in Niger as “a battle by the people of Niger against their colonizers.”
Mr. Bazoum, who has maintained phone contact through the crisis, is relying heavily on support from Western and regional allies to remain in charge. In a call on Wednesday evening, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken assured the beleaguered leader that he had Washington’s “unconditional support.” Mr. Prigozhin, in a lengthy tirade, claimed that “colonizers” — an apparent reference to soldiers from France — wanted to keep Nigeriens “in the conditions that were in Africa hundreds of years ago.”
At least 1,100 American troops are stationed in Niger, one of the few countries in the Sahel that remains a staunch Western ally in the fight against the Islamist militant groups that are spreading chaos across the region. Mr. Prigozhin’s statement more closely resembled a business pitch: If foreign soldiers couldn’t bring order to Niger, he said, Wagner’s fighter could “bring about order” and protect civilians from terrorists.
It was unclear in the early part of the crisis how much support the mutineers enjoyed in other branches of the armed forces. Some Western and African officials claimed that their support was weak, and that a clash with rival armed factions was possible. Mr. Bazoum is relying partly on his Western allies to get through the crisis. In a call on Wednesday evening, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken assured the beleaguered leader that he had Washington’s “unconditional support.”
But by the time of the mutineers’ late-night address on Wednesday, several senior officers appeared on television including the deputy army chief, the deputy head of the national guard, and the head of Niger’s special forces. Col. Amadou Abdramane of the air force read the statement announcing the coup. The United States has at least 1,100 American troops and two drone bases in Niger, a cornerstone of the American campaign against Islamist militants in the Sahel. U.S. forces in Niger have been ordered to stay on their bases or headquarters unless it’s an emergency, said a U.S. military official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Mr. Bazoum was freely elected two years ago in the country’s first peaceful democratic transfer of power since independence from France in 1960. He allied closely with the West to combat the militant groups that sprang up the far reaches of Niger’s vast deserts, often spilling over from Mali and northern Nigeria. Mr. Bazoum was freely elected two years ago in the country’s first peaceful democratic transfer of power since independence from France in 1960.
As Mali and Burkina Faso turned to Russia’s Wagner private military company for help to fight the militants, Mr. Bazoum stuck with France and the United States. As well as troops, the Pentagon has two drone bases in Niger that have been used to carry out airstrikes in Libya. As Islamist militant groups spread across the Sahel region in recent years, some based in Niger’s remote deserts, neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso turned to mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military company to help push them back. But Mr. Bazoum stuck with France and the United States.
When the last French troops departed Mali this year, after a collapse in relations between Paris and Mali’s ruling junta, some of them redeployed to bases in Niger. The coup had caught many by surprise.
The president of neighboring Benin, Patrice Talon, said he was flying to Niamey on Thursday in an effort to mediate the crisis. A senior West African intelligence official said he was struggling to understand why the soldiers were disgruntled with Mr. Bazoum, given his focus on growing Niger’s economy and its military strength. Like several other officials, he declined to be named because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
Omar Hama Saley contributed reporting from Niamey, Niger. Others pointed to signs of tensions inside the military. Rumors had been circulating for months that Mr. Bazoum intended to fire Omar Tchiani, the commander of the presidential guard, said J. Peter Pham, a former special U.S. envoy to the Sahel. The presidential guard is the branch that surrounded the palace on Wednesday and detained the president inside.
Rivalries inside the armed forces were also a factor, Mr. Pham said. Nigerien special forces trained by the United States, France and their allies have emerged as a new elite inside Niger’s military, and they are considered especially close to Mr. Bayoum, he said.
But the rise of the special forces was a source of resentment among more traditional military units, like the presidential guard — and when the mutineers began to move on Wednesday, the special forces units were stationed far from the capital, unable to rally to Mr. Bayoum’s defense, Mr. Pham said.
The leaders of West Africa’s remaining democracies, alarmed by the flurry of military coups in their backyard, still hope they can persuade the coup plotters to return to their barracks. President Patrice Talon of Benin was scheduled to arrive in Niamey on Thursday for mediation talks on behalf of ECOWAS, West Africa’s economic bloc.
But Mr. Talon’s whereabouts remained unclear late Thursday, and a spokesman for his government did not respond to requests for comment.
Michael R. Shurkin, a former C.I.A. analyst now at the Atlantic Council, a nonprofit group in Washington said that Mr. Bazoumhad been “an ideal partner for Western powers” — competent, pragmatic about security, attentive to governance and economic issues, and democratically elected.
“It’s a terrible blow to the region,” he said.
Omar Hama Saley contributed reporting from Niamey, Niger and Paul Sonne from Berlin.