Niger Coup: Algeria, Egypt Oppose Military Action, Make Demand

The plan by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to invade the Niger Republic if the coup leaders fail to hand over to the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, has been rejected by Algeria and Egypt.

Algeria and Egypt insisted that dialogue remains the best option out of the current political crisis in the country.

The move to invade Niger has also been opposed by prominent individuals and groups in Nigeria, including the National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), and Northern Elders Forum (NEF), among others.

The president of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune in a move to end the political crisis in Niger dispatched the foreign minister, Ahmed Attaf, to visit Nigeria, Benin Republic and Ghana.

Attaf, who was dispatched on Wednesday, is to hold consultations with his counterparts in ECOWAS countries, with a mandate to make a case for diplomacy, rather than military intervention.

Algeria, which shares a 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) long land border with Niger, had previously warned against a military solution, which Tebboune said would be “a direct threat” to his North African country.

He said: “There will be no solution without us (Algeria). We are the first people affected.”

The Egyptian government on its part stressed the need for dialogue, contending that military approach to the issue in Niger would do the ECOWAS and the continent no good.

The government said, in as much as it is important to restore democratic governance to Niger Republic within the shortest possible time, it is also expedient not to plunge the country into a war that could affect its neighbours.

The foreign ministry, in a statement released on Wednesday, said, “Egypt boosts all efforts exerted to defuse tensions in a way that promotes the democratic order and the sovereignty and stability of Niger and prevents escalations that could shake regional security.”

The ministry said the region (ECOWAS) could ill-afford a military operation at present and cautioned against it.