Mutinous soldiers in Niger sever military ties with France

Supporters of Niger’s ruling junta at the start of a protest for the country’s freedom in Niamey Thursday. Pic/AP

Niger's military junta says it is severing military agreements with France, its former colonial ruler, firing some of the previous government's key ambassadors and warning citizens of the West African nation to watch for foreign armies and spies. A regional delegation's efforts at negotiation quickly deadlocked.

The junta's announcement on state television late Thursday deepens the post-coup isolation for what had been the United States' and allies' last major security partner in the Sahel, the vast region south of the Sahara Desert that various Islamic extremist groups have turned into the global centre of terrorism.

With two days remaining before a deadline set by the West African regional bloc to release and reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum or face possible force, Bazoum in a plea published in a Washington Post opinion piece said, "I write this as a hostage." Niger's mutinous soldiers face a Sunday deadline set by the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, whose envoys arrived on Thursday for talks.

But those discussions quickly stalled, with the delegation unable to meet the coup leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, or go into the capital, Niamey, according to a person with close knowledge of the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to comment.

The junta's announcement brought further skepticism about any deal. It said it was terminating the military agreements and protocols signed with France and announced the end of functions for Niger's ambassadors to France, the United States, Togo and neighboring Nigeria, which is leading ECOWAS efforts on dialogue.

"All aggression against the state of Niger will see an immediate response and without warning," said a spokesman for the coup leaders, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, with the exception of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, which have expressed support for the coup. Mali and Burkina Faso have said such an intervention would be a declaration of war against them.

Bazoum wrote that Niger's security situation had been improving before the coup, in contrast to neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso that are led by military juntas, but said that's now at risk because Niger would lose aid from foreign partners and extremist groups would take advantage of the country's instability. "In our hour of need, I call on the US government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order," he wrote.

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