Niger Coup: EU To Sanction Niger Military Leaders

The European Union (EU) said Monday it apply economic sanctions on Niger military leaders following the military coup, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

On Sunday, thousands of people backing the military takeover marched through the streets of Niamey denouncing France, the country’s former colonial power, and waving Russian flags.

French President Emmanuel Macron said attacks on France and its interests would not be tolerated and that anyone who attacks French citizens would see an immediate response.

France and the EU have already suspended security cooperation and financial aid to Niger, calling for the release of elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been held by the military since Wednesday.

Also on Sunday, West African leaders gave the military junta in Niger one week to cede power, warning they did not rule out the “use of force” and imposing immediate financial sanctions.

The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) demanded the “immediate release and reinstatement” of Bazoum and his government.

“In the event the authorities’ demands are not met within one week (ECOWAS will) take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. Such measures may include the use of force. For this effect, the chiefs of defence staff of ECOWAS are to meet immediately,” the bloc said in a statement after a summit in Abuja, Nigeria.

ECOWAS announced the “suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger”, which is part of the bloc, as well as halting energy transactions.

It said it was freezing Niger’s assets in ECOWAS central and commercial banks and imposing a “travel ban and asset freeze for the military officials involved in the coup attempt”.

The leaders of Niger’s military coup said earlier on Sunday that they believed regional leaders were on the point of staging a military intervention in the capital of the Sahel country.

Speaking ahead of the ECOWAS crisis summit, the junta said: “The aim of this meeting is to approve a plan of aggression against Niger, in the form of an imminent military intervention in Niamey, in cooperation with African countries who are not members of the regional body and certain Western nations.”

The statement was read out on national television on Saturday evening by Amadou Abdramane, a member of the junta which this week ousted President Bazoum and declared itself in charge.

The president of Chad, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, was in Niger on Sunday to help resolve the crisis in the country following a coup, a Chad government spokesman told AFP.

Itno was in the capital Niamey “to see what he could bring to solving the crisis”, Aziz Mahamat Saleh said, adding that the trip was on the initiative of Chad, which neighbours Niger.