West Africa’s ECOWAS parliament in a new attempt to engage with Niger coup leaders

ABUJA, Aug 12 (Reuters) – The West African bloc ECOWAS aims to send a parliamentary committee to Niger to meet with coup leaders who seized power last month and resisted diplomatic pressure to restore civilian rule, it said a speaker of parliament on Saturday.

Niger’s army jailed President Mohamed Bazoum last month and dissolved the elected government, drawing condemnation from regional powers that activated a reserve military force they say it will be deployed as a last resort if talks fail.

But coup leaders, led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, have rebuffed diplomatic efforts by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the United States and others, raising the specter of more conflict in Africa’s impoverished Sahel region. West, which is already overrun by a deadly Islamic insurgency.

At stake is not only the fate of Niger, a major uranium producer and ally of the West in the fight against Islamists, but also the influence of rival world powers with strategic interests in West and Central Africa, where there have been seven coups in three years. .

American, French, German and Italian troops are stationed in Niger, in a region where local al Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates have killed thousands and displaced millions.

Meanwhile, Russian influence has grown as insecurity increases, democracy erodes and leaders seek new partners to restore order.

The ECOWAS parliament met on Saturday to discuss further action in Niger. No decision was made, but parliament has set up a committee that plans to meet with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who holds ECOWAS’s rotating chairmanship, to get his permission to go to Niger, the spokesperson said.

Western powers fear Russian influence could increase if the junta in Niger follows neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, which expelled troops from former colonial power France after coups in those countries.

Since then, Mali has teamed up with mercenaries from the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group, a move that has coincided with a spike of violence there. It has also kicked out a United Nations peacekeeping force, which security analysts fear. could lead to more conflicts.

In Niger’s capital Niamey on Friday, thousands of people demonstrated in favor of the coup in front of a French military base.

“Long live Russia,” read a protester’s banner. “Down with France… Down with ECOWAS.” Another said: “Wagner will protect our children from terrorism.”

The regional heads of the army will meet in the coming days.

If they chose to intervene, it was unclear how long it would take for the ECOWAS force to assemble, how large it would be, and whether it would actually invade. Security analysts said it could take weeks to set up.

Only the Ivory Coast has said how many troops it would provide, and some countries, including Liberia and Cape Verde, have said they would prefer diplomacy. Russia has warned against military action.

Meanwhile, the African Union, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations said they were concerned about Bazoum’s detention.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk said on Friday that conditions were “rapidly deteriorating” and could constitute a violation of international human rights law.

Reporting by Felix Onuah and Edward McAllister; Written by Edward McAllister Edited by Ingrid Melander, Mark Potter and Giles Elgood

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