Sanctions imposed as democracy falls, adding to woes for 27m people

Niamey (AP)

West African nations have announced travel and economic sanctions against Niger and have threatened to use force if the leaders of a coup don’t reinstate the democratically elected president within one week.

The sanctions announced after the regional bloc known as ECOWAS convened to respond to last week’s military takeover add to a growing list of penalties against the country, one of the least developed in the world, according to the latest UN Human Development Index. Niger relies heavily on foreign aid. Analysts fear sanctions could further impoverish its 25 million people.

“In the event the authority’s demands are not met within one week, (the bloc will) take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. Such measures may include the use of force,” the ECOWAS bloc said in a statement after its meeting on Sunday. One of its demands is the immediate release and reinstatement of Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum, who remains under house arrest and has yet to resign.

Niger, a former French colony, had been regarded by the West as one of the last democratic partners in the Sahel region in its battle against Islamic extremists. The European Union and the United States have poured millions of dollars in military aid and assistance into the country. The French and the US provide training to Niger’s forces, and the French military does joint operations in the north.

SUSPENDED TRANSACTIONS

ECOWAS suspended all commercial and financial transactions between its member states and Niger as well as froze Nigerien assets held in regional central banks. Economic sanctions could have a deep impact on Nigeriens: the country relies on imports from Nigeria for up to 90% of its power, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The sanctions could be disastrous, and Niger needs to find a solution to avoid them, the country’s Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told French media outlet Radio France Internationale on Sunday.

“When people say there’s an embargo, land borders are closed, air borders are closed, it’s extremely difficult for people ... Niger is a country that relies heavily on the international community,” he said.

The 15-nation ECOWAS bloc has unsuccessfully tried to restore democracies in nations where the military took power in recent years. Four nations are run by military governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.

In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war. In 2017, it intervened in Gambia to prevent the new president’s predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Around 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered the country, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues.

If the regional bloc uses force, it could trigger violence not only between Niger and ECOWAS forces, but also between civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say.

“While this remains to be a threat and unlikely action, the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic,” said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.

Lyammouri also said he did not see a “military intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger”.