Niamey: Niger's coup leaders announced on Thursday evening that they were terminating the mandates of four ambassadors as they face international pressure to restore the democratically elected leader they deposed last week. "The functions of the extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassadors of the Republic of Niger" to France, Nigeria, Togo, and the United States "are terminated," one of the putschists declared in a statement read on national television. The junta is under international pressure to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, with regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States, currently chaired by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, threatening force.
On Wednesday, military chiefs from the bloc's member countries met in Nigeria for three days of consultations.
Outside the continent, the United States and former colonial power France have led global condemnation, with approximately 1,000 and 1,500 troops stationed in the country, respectively.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US "stands very much" with West African leaders who have threatened to use force to restore the country's democracy, and Senegal has offered troops to assist.
As hundreds of anti-French protesters gathered in Nigerien capital to support the ruling junta, Blinken expressed general support for the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, though he did not specifically mention its threat of military action. Blinken told reporters in New York that the US considers the EU's efforts to re-elect ousted President Mohamed Bazoum to be "important, strong, and have our support."
Senegal's foreign minister stated that if ECOWAS decides to intervene, her country will participate in a military intervention. "Senegalese soldiers must leave... "These coups must be put down," Aissata Tall Sall said.
Meanwhile, Niger's military leaders attempted to capitalise on anti-Western sentiment to support their takeover. According to the French foreign ministry, the junta has banned RFI and France 24 television from broadcasting in the country. The suspensions were part of the junta's "authoritarian repression," according to the ministry's post on X, the social media platform that was formerly known as Twitter.
Bazoum's ascension marked Niger's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960. The coup inflamed anti-French sentiment and cast doubt on the future of the fight against extremism in Africa's Sahel region, where Russia and Western countries have competed for influence.
Western countries and the ECOWAS bloc have condemned the coup and threatened to depose the junta if it does not return power to Bazoum. As tensions rose in Niamey's capital and throughout the region, many European countries moved to evacuate their citizens.
Protesters pumped their fists in the air and chanted support for neighbouring countries that have also seen military takeovers in recent years at a Thursday protest organised by the junta and civil society groups on Niger's independence day. Some carried Russian flags, and one man carried a sewed-together Russian and Nigerien flag.
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"For more than 13 years, the Nigerien people have suffered injustices," said protester Moctar Abdou Issa. "God willing," the junta "will get us out of this... they will free the Nigerien people."
We're tired of the French," he continued.
It is unclear whether a majority of the population supports the coup, and people went about their daily lives as usual in many parts of the capital on Thursday.
On the occasion of Niger's independence day, US President Joe Biden called for Bazoum's release and the restoration of democracy.
"Nigerians have the right to choose their leaders." "They have expressed their will through free and fair elections, which must be respected," he said in a statement.
According to John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, the administration is still focused on diplomacy.
Brig. Gen. Tukur Ismaila Gusau, a Nigeria defence spokesman, said at a bloc meeting in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, that defence chiefs have been asked to come up with a military solution, which they hope will be "the last option."
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, the sanctions include a halt in energy transactions with Niger, which gets up to 90% of its power from neighbouring Nigeria.
In Niger, France has 1,500 soldiers conducting joint operations with its military against jihadis affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group. The United States and other European countries have assisted Niger in training its troops.
Niger was thought to be the West's last reliable partner in the region, but some in the country see Russia and its Wagner mercenary group, which operates in a few African countries, as a powerful alternative.
The new junta has not stated whether it intends to align with Moscow or with Niger's Western partners, but this question has emerged as central to the country's political crisis. Both Mali and Burkina Faso, which are ruled by juntas, have turned towards Moscow.
Even if Niger's military rulers demand the withdrawal of French troops, as has happened in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, Anne-Claire Legendre, a spokesperson for France's foreign minister, said it wouldn't make a difference.
"We don't have to answer to the putschists." "We recognise only one constitutional order and one legitimacy, that of President Bazoum," she said during a press conference on Wednesday.
The French Embassy in Niamey asked Niger's government to ensure the security of its premises ahead of Thursday's protest after it was attacked by protesters and a door was set on fire.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu dispatched two delegations to Niger on Thursday to deal with the crisis.
A delegation from ECOWAS, led by former Nigerian President Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, was on its way to Niger. According to Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the president, a second group led by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe went to meet with the leaders of Libya and Algeria.
