NIAMEY (Reuters) – Niger’s former rebel leader and politician has launched a movement to oppose the military junta that took power in a July 26 coup, in the first sign of domestic resistance to military rule in the strategically important country in the Sahel.
In a witness statement on Wednesday, Raisa Ag Bola said that his new Council of Resistance for the Republic aims to restore the ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been detained in his residence since he came to power.
“Niger is a victim of a tragedy orchestrated by people charged with protecting it,” the statement said, adding that the Council on Foreign Relations would use “any means necessary” to prevent the military from denying the Nigerien people their freedom of choice.
The challenge from Ag Bola raises the specter of internal conflict in Niger, a major uranium producer that hosts thousands of US and Western European troops as part of international efforts to contain Islamist rebels in the Sahel region.
The military council has so far rejected diplomatic overtures from African envoys, the United States and the United Nations, while its allies, the rulers of neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, have called on the United Nations and the African Union to prevent any military intervention.
On Thursday, the heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are scheduled to meet in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to discuss the Niger issue, including the possibility of using force to restore constitutional order.
According to Ag Bola’s statement, the Council on Foreign Relations supports ECOWAS and any other international actors seeking to end military rule in Niger, which he added would make itself available to the bloc for any useful purpose.
A CRR member said several Nigerian political figures had joined the group but were unable to declare their allegiance for safety reasons.
Ag Bola played a leading role in the uprisings of the Tuareg, a nomadic ethnic group that existed in the deserts of northern Niger, in the 1990s and 2000s. Like many previous rebels, he was incorporated into the government under Bazoum and his predecessor Muhammadu Issoufou.
While the extent of support for the CRR is not clear, Ag Boula’s statement may worry coup leaders given his influence among the Tuareg, who control trade and politics in much of the vast north. Support from the Tuareg will be key to securing junta control outside the city limits in the capital, Niamey.
The United Nations, Western powers and ECOWAS member democracies like Nigeria want the junta to restore a civilian government that has been relatively successful in containing the Islamist rebels who have devastated the Sahel.
[1/4]General Abderrahmane Tiane, proclaimed by the coup leaders as Niger’s new head of state, arrives to meet ministers in Niamey, Niger on July 28, 2023. REUTERS/BALIMA BUREAMA/File Photo
Niger is the world’s seventh largest producer of uranium, the most widely used fuel for nuclear power. It is also extracting 20,000 barrels per day of oil, mostly from Chinese-run projects, and is on the cusp of a significant increase in production via a new export pipeline to Benin.
complex diplomatic picture
Mali and Burkina Faso, two members of the Economic Community of West African States that have rejected Western allies since their fellow military men seized power in coups in the past two years, have vowed to defend Niger’s new military rulers from any forceful attempt to remove them.
In a letter to the United Nations, they called on the Security Council to prevent any armed action against Niger, saying that it would have unpredictable consequences such as the disintegration of the Economic Community of West African States, a humanitarian catastrophe and the deterioration of the security situation.
The coup has already closed borders and airspace cutting off supplies of medicine and food, hampering humanitarian aid in one of the world’s poorest countries.
“The first thing we expect from them (the junta) is security and fair management of resources. Our raw materials must be sold at their fair value, to reintroduce them into basic social sectors such as education and health,” said Issifou Noga, a taxi driver in Niamey.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late Tuesday that he had spoken to Bazoum to express continued efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.
“The United States reiterates our call for the immediate release of him and his family,” he posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Nigerian President and ECOWAS Chairman Paula Tinubu imposed further sanctions on Niger on Tuesday, aiming to put pressure on the entities and individuals involved in the takeover, and said all options remain on the table.
The Economic Community of West African States said the use of force would be a last resort. The bloc’s defense leaders approved a possible military action plan, which heads of state will discuss at their summit on Thursday.
Further complicating the diplomatic picture is Russia’s influence in the Sahel region, which Western powers fear will grow stronger if Niger’s military junta follows Mali’s example by expelling Western forces and inviting mercenaries from Wagner’s private Russian army.
Niger now hosts American, French, German and Italian forces under agreements with the now deposed civilian government.
Additional reporting by David Lewis, David Gauthier-Villars and Edward McAllister. Writing by Nelly Beaton and Estelle Shribbon; Editing by William McLean and Peter Graff
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