The military who led the coup against President Mohamed Bazoum arrested several ministers and other political leaders, according to Ali Idrissa, executive secretary of the Network of Organizations for Transparency and Budget Analysis, a local human rights group. Requests to see them and check their status have not received a response, he said.
The junta that seized power has kept Bazoum, his wife and son under house arrest at their compound in the capital since 26 July. He says he intends to try Bazoum for “high treason” and undermining state security, crimes that carry the death penalty in Niger.
The spokesman for the junta, Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane, said in a televised broadcast on Sunday night that the detainees are treated humanely and have not reported health problems. Representatives of the coup leaders did not respond when asked if defense organizations could visit or communicate with Bazoum and the others.
For many Western nations, Niger was the last democratic partner in the Sahel, the region south of the Sahara desert, that they could count on to combat a growing jihadist insurgency linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State extremist group.
The United States and France have some 2,500 military personnel in Niger to train their armed forces and, in the case of France, conduct joint operations. The junta says the Bazoum government has reportedly failed to curb Western-backed extremist violence.
Coups are frequent in the Sahel. Burkina Faso and Mali have each had two since 2020, but they did not incur the same international condemnation and pressure as Niger.
In recent days, the junta has sent mixed signals about its willingness to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Niger.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS/ECOWAS) has threatened military intervention if Bazoum is not restored and has activated a standby force to restore order. The junta refused to allow an ECOWAS mediation team to enter, but said on Sunday it was open to dialogue with the bloc.
“For ECOWAS and Western countries, this coup broke the camel’s back,” said Hannah Rae Armstrong, an independent consultant on the Sahel. “But so far, the hardline response seems to have the opposite effect and toughen up the military regime.”
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
