West African bloc says navy intervention in Niger ‘the final resort’

5:15pm: West African bloc says Niger navy intervention ‘the final resort’

A navy intervention in junta-ruled Niger is “the final choice on the desk”, the West Africa‘s regional bloc ECOWAS has mentioned as navy chiefs met in neighbouring Nigeria to border a response to the coup.

“(The) navy choice is the final choice on the desk, the final resort, however we now have to arrange for the eventuality,” mentioned Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace and safety.

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Nigeria, the present chair of ECOWAS and West Africa’s navy and financial superpower, has vowed to take a agency line towards coups which have proliferated throughout the area since 2020, most of them the result of a bloody jihadist insurgency.

The regional bloc on Sunday imposed commerce and monetary sanctions and gave the coup leaders every week to reinstate Niger’s democratically elected president or face potential use of power.

3:35pm: Nigeria cuts electrical energy to Niger following coup

Nigeria has minimize its electrical energy provide to Niger after West African neighbours imposed sanctions on the junta that ousted the nation’s elected chief final week, a Niger energy firm supply has instructed AFP.

“Since yesterday, Nigeria has disconnected the high-voltage line transporting electrical energy to Niger,” a supply at Niger’s energy firm Nigelec mentioned.

Niger is determined by Nigeria for 70 % of its energy. 

2:50pm: West African bloc sends delegation to Niger to barter with junta

A Nigerian-led delegation from West African regional bloc ECOWAS is in Niger “to barter” with the coup leaders who seized energy final week, Abdel-Fatau Musah, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Safety, has mentioned.

Musah mentioned the delegation was led by Abdulsalami Abubakar, a former navy ruler of Nigeria who oversaw a transition to civilian rule within the late Nineteen Nineties.

He was talking within the Nigerian capital Abuja on the opening of talks on the disaster gathering ECOWAS navy chiefs.

Musah mentioned a navy intervention to revive Niger’s democratically-elected leaders could be a “final resort”.

1:35pm: Niger junta delegation arrives in Mali capital

Common Salifou Mody, one of many officers who seized energy in Niger final week, has travelled to neighbouring Mali, whose junta has supported the coup leaders within the face of worldwide strain.

Mody, a former military chief of employees who had been fired in April, arrived within the capital Bamako on the head of a delegation, a senior Nigerien official and a Malian safety official instructed AFP.

West African regional bloc ECOWAS mentioned on Sunday it might use power towards the junta if it didn’t launch and reinstate the president inside every week. Mali and Burkina Faso’s leaders slammed the ECOWAS menace, saying {that a} navy intervention in Niger “could be tantamount to a declaration of battle” towards them.

10:55am: ‘No Western navy intervention in Niger’, says Italian FM

Any Western navy intervention in Niger should be averted, Italian International Minister Antonio Tajani instructed RAI public tv on Wednesday.

“We have now to work in order that democracy prevails in Niger … we have to rule out any Western navy initiative as a result of it might be perceived as a brand new colonisation,” Tajani mentioned.

His feedback, reported by Italian information businesses, have been confirmed by his spokesman.

10:02am: Evacuees fleeing Niger coup contact down in Paris

FRANCE 24’s Clovis Casali experiences from Charles de Gaulle airport as evacuees arrive in France following the coup in Niger.

“Two planes arrived in the course of the evening, and two extra are anticipated in a while as we speak”, mentioned Casali. “For the French international ministry, what’s important is to make sure the safety of those passengers and people who want to go away Niger”.

‘We have been actually not sure about our security’: Evacuees fleeing Niger coup contact down in Paris

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8:19am: Roughly 600 French nationals to be evacuated from Niger

About 600 French nationals out of the roughly 1,200 registered in Niger have requested to be evacuated from the nation, in accordance with French authorities. At this stage, 4 flights are anticipated to take off on Wednesday to hold out this large-scale evacuation.

5:07am: Many evacuees ‘relieved’ to have left Niger

Evacuees who arrived in Paris on a French authorities aircraft early Wednesday morning have mentioned they’re relieved to have left Niger after days of unrest. Lots of them have additionally expressed concern about what’s going to occur sooner or later. FRANCE 24’s Catherine Norris Trent experiences from Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport.

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2:18am: Niger reopens land and air borders with 5 neighbouring international locations

Niger’s land and air borders with 5 neighbouring international locations have been reopened, practically every week after they have been closed following a coup that overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum, one of many putschists introduced Tuesday on nationwide tv.

“The land and air borders with Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali and Chad are reopened” from “as we speak”, he declared, hours after a primary French evacuation flight took off and 5 days earlier than a deadline to revive constitutional order issued by a bloc of West African international locations.

1:52am: French aircraft carrying 262 evacuees from Niger lands in Paris

The primary of three planes carrying largely French and European folks evacuated from Niger landed in Paris early Wednesday, every week after a coup toppled one of many final pro-Western leaders within the jihadist-plagued Sahel.

“There are 262 folks on board the aircraft, an Airbus A330, together with a dozen infants,” French International Minister Catherine Colonna instructed AFP earlier than the flight landed at Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport. “Almost all of the passengers are compatriots” together with “some European nationals”.

There have been additionally Nigeriens, Portuguese, Belgians, Ethiopians and Lebanese on board, the international ministry instructed reporters on the airport. A second flight carrying French, Nigerien, German, Belgian, Canadian, American, Austrian and Indian nationals was as a result of land early Wednesday morning.

12:20am: ECOWAS members to satisfy on Wednesday

Navy chiefs of members of the West African bloc ECOWAS will meet within the Nigerian capital Abuja from Wednesday to Friday to debate the coup in Niger, the organisation mentioned on Tuesday.

On Sunday ECOWAS slapped sanctions on Niger and warned it might use power because it gave the coup leaders every week to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum.

Key occasions in Niger thus far:

Niger’s elected president Mohamed Bazoum has been held by the navy since July 26, within the third coup in as a few years to topple an elected chief within the Sahel.

The top of Niger’s highly effective presidential guard, Common Abdourahamane Tiani, has declared himself the nation’s new chief.

Tiani mentioned the putsch was a response to “the degradation of the safety state of affairs” linked to jihadist bloodshed, in addition to corruption and financial woes.

Former colonial ruler France and the European Union have suspended safety cooperation and monetary assist to Niger following the coup, whereas the US warned that its assist is also at stake.

At an emergency summit on Sunday the Financial Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS) gave Tiani one week to reinstate the nation’s democratically elected president and have threatened to make use of power if the calls for aren’t met.

France has denied accusations from Niger’s coup leaders that Paris is plotting to intervene militarily, with International Minister Catherine Colonna telling FRANCE 24 that “France’s solely precedence is the protection of our nationals”.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)