West African bloc arrives in Niger for talks, coup group challenges military intervention

"Our ambition is not to hold power," General Tchiani said in a televised speech. "If an attack is launched against us, it will not be the walk in the park that some people seem to think," he added.

The flight to Niger was stopped at the last minute by a group of rebels challenging the military intervention in Figure 1. — The ECOWAS militaries have set a specific date for military intervention in Niger if the final diplomatic effort fails. Photo: ECOWAS

President Bazoum's safety guaranteed

Tchiani's comments came as a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met with military junta leaders on Saturday, in an effort to find a last-minute diplomatic solution, before a possible military intervention in Niger.

A delegation led by former Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar arrived in Niger's capital Niamey in the early afternoon. The group later visited detained President Mohamed Bazoum.

"After meeting with the head of Niger's CNSP, General Abdoulrahmane Tchiani, the ECOWAS delegation in Niger also visited President Mohamed Bazoum this evening," a spokesman for former Nigerian President Abdulaziz Abdulaziz posted on social media X.

ECOWAS leaders said they were forced to act after Niger became the fourth West African country since 2020 to experience a coup, after Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.

Among the negotiating delegation members was the bloc's chairman, Omar Touray, who was met at Niamey's airport by Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine. Zeine told The New York Times that Mr. Bazoum would not be harmed.

"Nothing will happen to him, because we don't have a tradition of violence in Niger," said the most senior civilian official in the new regime.

The diplomatic mission's trip to Niger comes a day after the ECOWAS bloc said a military intervention force had set a date for intervention in Niger, if last-ditch peace talks to end the crisis failed.

Mali and Burkina Faso ready to join forces with Niger

Facing growing diplomatic and military pressure, Niger and its two neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso said a joint defense strategy had been established with "concrete measures" if ECOWAS chose to "escalate the war," Niger state television reported.

"We are prepared for an attack," Burkina Faso's Defense Minister Kassoum Coulibaly said on Saturday after a meeting of representatives of the three countries in Niger's capital Niamey.

The airstrike on Niger at the last minute of the military intervention group challenged the military intervention in Figure 2 — Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso are three neighboring countries and are all led by military governments. Photo: GI

Burkina Faso and Mali are even said to have sent fighter jets to Niger to be ready to fight if ECOWAS forces advance into Niger.

Niger's RTN television channel reported that the two neighbors' forces "are carrying out their obligations set out in the joint solidarity communique", adding that it was aimed at "repelling any form of aggression against Niger".

On 31 July, the governments of Burkina Faso and Mali expressed solidarity with the people of Niger, warning that both countries would consider any military intervention in Niger as a declaration of war against them.

In addition to receiving support from Burkina Faso and Mali, the Niger military government is also receiving popular support.

Thousands of volunteers gathered in central Niamey on Saturday in response to a call by the coup group to register as soldiers, so they could be mobilized if fighting broke out.

Countries in the Sahel region have been repeatedly attacked and controlled by jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and IS in recent years, causing frustration among the population and catalyzing military coups.

The United Nations says Niger is in the midst of a refugee crisis and faces a number of humanitarian challenges including food insecurity and internal displacement.

Huy Hoang (AFP, Reuters, France24)

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