(December 9, 2024)
According to the bloc, the departure of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger becomes effective one year after the announcement, in January 2025.
The trio have formed the Alliance of Sahel States after severing ties with France and pivoting towards Russia.
Gut zwei Monate nach dem Militärputsch in Niger hat Frankreich mit dem Abzug seiner Truppen aus dem westafrikanischen Staat begonnen. Der Generalstab bestätigte der Nachrichtenagentur dpa, dass der Rückzug heute losgegangen sei.
(Sept. 13, 2023)
The Biden administration has not officially declared the removal of President Mohammad Bazoum a coup, a legal move that would require the U.S. to cut off military assistance under U.S. law.
Since the coup, current and former U.S. officials have stressed that there might still be some hope the U.S. could reach an agreement to resume counterterrorism efforts.
(25.09.2023)
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday 1,500 troops would withdraw by the end of the year, dealing a huge blow to French influence and counter-insurgency operations in the Sahel region.
(September 25, 2023)
“We are putting an end to our military cooperation with the de facto authorities of Niger because they don’t want to fight terrorism anymore,” Macron said regarding the military leaders who took over rule of the northwest African country.
(17.09.2023)
All three countries have undergone coups since 2020, most recently Niger, where soldiers in July overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum.
The West African regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened to intervene militarily in Niger over the coup.
Mali and Burkina Faso quickly responded by saying that any such operation would be deemed a “declaration of war” against them.
All three countries have undergone coups since 2020, most recently Niger, where soldiers in July overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum.
The West African regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened to intervene militarily in Niger over the coup.
Mali and Burkina Faso quickly responded by saying that any such operation would be deemed a “declaration of war” against them.
All three states were members of the France-supported G5 Sahel alliance joint force with Chad and Mauritania, launched in 2017 to tackle extremists in the region.
Mali has since left the dormant organisation after a military coup, while deposed Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum said in May last year that the force is now “dead” following Mali’s departure.
The US government is considering whether to assassinate the leaders of the new military administration in Niger, who seized power in late July, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has said.
While the White House is “not satisfied” with events in the former French colony, it does not want to rely on military intervention by Niger’s regional neighbors, the assessment released by the SVR on Thursday claimed. Washington considers that a ‘wetwork’ solution by a proxy would be preferable to military action by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Russian agency said.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to say how many personnel would be departing and how many were repositioning within Niger from Air Base 101 in Niamey, the capital, to Air Base 201 in the city of Agadez.
Before this movement, there were 1,100 troops in the West African country.
“The government has already revoked the deals that allow for the French troops to operate on our territory,” Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine told reporters in the capital, Niamey, on Monday. “They’re here illegally. Talks are underway, which should allow for a swift withdrawal.”
(02.09.2023)
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside a French military base in Niger‘s capital Niamey on Saturday demanding that its troops leave in the wake of a military coup that has widespread popular support but which Paris refuses to recognise.
The Rwandan leader, known for his brutal crackdown on the media and opposition, also retired 83 senior officers, 06 junior officers and 86 senior non-commissioned officers, 678 end-of-contract officers, while 160 were discharged on medical grounds discharges,” the statement said.
In Cameroon, Mr Biya, who spends most of his time in Switzerland, is also not leaving his grip on the country to chance as he immediately shuffled the officers in the army, air force and marine.
The sweeping changes in Cameroon and Rwanda came barely hours after the coup in Gabon, where President Ali Bongo Ondimba was toppled and placed under house arrest by soldiers. Both leaders did not reference the coups in Niger and Gabon in their respective decisions.
(August 22, 2023)
The situation is complicated by the fact that three other members of the 15-member ECOWAS are suspended because they have had their own military coups in recent years. These countries — Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, all former French colonies in the Sahel — have indicated they may side with Niger’s military government in the event of a war.
In Reaktion auf den Umsturz in Niamey haben Berlin und Paris jedenfalls gemeinsam Sanktionen gegen führende Mitglieder der Junta vorgeschlagen, was der EU-Außenbeauftragte Josep Borrell aufgegriffen hat. Baerbock betonte, dass man sich dabei eng abgestimmt habe mit der Regionalorganisation Ecowas, der 15 westafrikanische Staaten angehören.
Following in the footsteps of the West African regional body ECOWAS, the EU aims to slap the same sanctions on the junta that seized power in Niger several weeks ago, EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed in Toledo, Spain on Wednesday (30 August).
On Wednesday, the oil-rich nation of Gabon became the eighth Central or West African country to be hit by a military takeover in the last three years. The EU has not been training Gabon‘s armed forces -– although French troops have -– but it has funded and taught troops in Mali and Niger.
The CFA franc zone consists of 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, each affiliated with one of two monetary unions. Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte D’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo comprise the West African Economic and Monetary Union, or WAEMU, founded in 1994 to build on the foundation of the West African Monetary Union, founded in 1973. The remaining six countries — Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon — comprise the Central African Economic and Monetary Union, or CAEMC.
These two unions maintain the same currency, the CFA franc, which stands for Communauté Financière Africaine (African Financial Community) within WAEMU and Coopération Financière en Afrique Centrale (Financial Cooperation in Central Africa) within CAEMC. WAEMU and CAEMC account for 14 percent of Africa’s population and 12 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP).
The junta led by Brig. Gen. Abdrahmane Tchiani ordered the Nigerien armed forces to go on maximum alert over “threats of aggression to the national territory” and asked the military-led governments of neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso to send troops to help defend them.
During a major foreign policy speech to ambassadors gathered in Paris, Macron confirmed that French envoy Sylvain Itte was listening in from Niger capital Niamey despite being given a 48-hour deadline to leave the country last Friday.
(21.08.2023)
Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz hat bei einer kürzlichen Wahlkampfrede in München anwesende Kritiker des Kurses der Bundesregierung schwer beleidigt, wie Medien berichten. Im Laufe der Rede sagte Scholz an die Bürger gewandt, die für Waffenstillstand und Verhandlungen im Ukrainekrieg eintreten:
„Und die, die hier mit Friedenstauben rumlaufen, sind deshalb vielleicht gefallene Engel, die aus der Hölle kommen, weil sie letztendlich einem Kriegstreiber das Wort reden.“
In diesem Screenshot eines Videos der FAZ sind einige dieser „Höllen-Kreaturen“ zu sehen. Sie fordern etwa „Verhandeln statt Schießen!“ und setzen sich für „Waffenstillstand und Friedensverhandlungen“ ein:
On Thursday, the bloc ordered the deployment of a “standby” force to restore constitutional rule in Niger, with Nigeria, Benin, Senegal and Ivory Coast saying they would contribute troops.
But it’s unclear when, how or if the troops will deploy. The move could take weeks or months to set into motion, and while the bloc decides what to do the junta is gaining power, some observers say.
Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, who led the Nigerian delegation, made the announcement on Sunday, a day after his group held talks with General Abdourahamane Tchiani in the Nigerien capital Niamey.
The meeting took place as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) explores its options to restore civilian rule in Niger, including potential military intervention,
(12.08.2023)
„The Niger soldiers are ready to face any aggression against our country of any kind. They should count on our support, the support of the population and its partners. We are ready,“ says Bana Ibrahim.
The 46-year-old is one of the leaders of a so-called self-defence unit that has been set up in response to the Ecowas announcement.
Another member of the unit, Moudi Moussa, agrees: „We are here to defend our country because the country is threatened by Ecowas mercenaries. I call them mercenaries in the pay of [French President Emmanuel] Macron. So we are here to protect our Niger and the people of Niger.“
The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has ordered its standby force to restore constitutional order in NIger Republic.
The President of ECOWAS, Omar Alieu Touray made the declaration while reading the resolution of ECOWAS on the Niger coup at the ECOWAS Extraordinary meeting in Abuja on Thursday.
Leaders from the West African bloc ECOWAS will meet on Thursday for an emergency summit on the coup in Niger, after the country‘s military chiefs defied an ultimatum to restore the elected president.
The coup of the 26th July 2023 in Niger was precipitated by the stated desire of former President Bazoum to remove the head of the presidential guard. Irrespective of the reasons for the coupists seizing power, the coup, to gain legitimacy, has tapped into a festering resentment against the ex-colonial power, France. French control of Niger’s economy through fiscal and monetary means using a regional version of the Franc (CFA Franc), with the collaboration of elements of Niger’s elite, has meant that France has the scope and access to pillage the country’s resources relentlessly.
As Niger has no control over its currency, it is unable to embark upon any form of meaningful development to lift or transform the living standards of the people. The CFA Franc and the fiscal and monetary control that France has over its ex-colonies is a scandal. It represents the rawest form of neo-colonial domination.
Western allies are pressuring Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to take a tough stance against the new Niger junta. But lawmakers back home have signalled they are against using Nigerian troops.
(October 26, 2017)
Q1: Several members of Congress have shared that they weren’t aware of U.S. military presence in Niger. What is the appropriate role of Congress in the oversight of foreign troop deployments?
A1: At best, the Constitution is ambiguous about the congressional role in the use of military forces abroad. Under Article I, the Congress is given the power to create a military and to declare its use in wartime. Yet Article II names the president as commander in chief and thus establishes a system whereby the executive and legislative branches share the power to use force. Furthermore, since the mid-twentieth century, the range of military activities outside the strict definition of declared war has broadened dramatically. Although the War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires the president to notify the Congress about combat deployments in a timely manner, notification of deployments under conditions where combat is not anticipated, nor war-like engagements intended, is up to the president’s discretion.
Mali said it and Burkina Faso, both neighbours of Niger run by military juntas, were sending delegations to Niger to show support. Both countries have said they would consider any intervention in Niger as a declaration of war against them.
I might also say that the – you know, the threats of other countries supporting the coup leaders – those are even more risible than the threat of invasion.
INSKEEP: Oh, meaning that other countries aren‘t – they don‘t have very many resources to make much of a difference even if they do want to support.
PHAM: Well, no. I mean, yes, definitely. For example, Burkina Faso, which has been very vocal, it‘s gone through two coups in recent years – very vocal in its support of the junta in Niger.
“They were quite firm about how they want to proceed, and it is not in support of the constitution of Niger,” Nuland told reporters. She characterized the conversations as “extremely frank and at times quite difficult.”
She spoke after a two-hour meeting in Niger’s capital, Niamey, with some leaders of the military takeover of a country that has been a vital counterterrorism partner of the United States.
(07.08.2023)
A military source told CNN that Niger‘s armed forces brought in a convoy of about 40 pick-up trucks from other parts of the country on Sunday evening.
The U.S. has evacuated some staff from its embassy in the capital in Niamey, while the estimated 1,000 American troops stationed in the country were restricted to their bases.
(Aug 05, 2023)
ECOWAS Defence Chiefs finalised an intervention plan and urged militaries to ready resources. However, the Niger junta has threatened ‚devastating consequences‘ in case of an intervention. Watch this video for details.
As the deadline for the military junta in Niger Republic to vacate power expired on Sunday, President Bola Tinubu has met with the governors that share common boundaries with the troubled country at the State House in Abuja.
The meeting is part of the consultations by the president on the situation in Niger and as chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Authority of Heads of State and Government.
A source who was privy to the discussions among the senators, who met behind closed doors, said lawmakers from seven northern states, which share border with Niger Republic namely; Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno, vehemently rejected the move.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “It was a stormy session with concern on the implications of the war if allowed to start.
Aug 6, 2023
(04.08.2023)
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has sought parliamentary approval to place sanctions on the Republic of Niger and mobilise the military for a possible intervention should the junta not respond to the conditions sought by the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS).
(05.08.2023)
Nigeria deploys troops to its border for preparation of invasion into Niger. Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, Spokesperson for the Nigerian Ministry of Defense, has stated that no official order has been issued yet, but preparations are ongoing. France, the European Union, the United States, and Senegal have declared their readiness to support military intervention in Niger.
(August 2, 2023)
General Salifou Mody, one of the Niger officers who seized power in a military coup last week, visited Mali on Wednesday, according to the Mali presidency, amid speculation of a possible interest in the Wagner mercenary group, which has a presence in the country.
Mali’s transitional president, Assimi Goïta, hosted Mody and a large Nigerien military delegation on Wednesday, according to pictures and a statement posted on Facebook by the Mali presidency.
(03.05.2023)
Die Bundeswehr will aber auch nach dem Abzug aus Mali in der Sahel-Region präsent bleiben – mit steigender Entwicklungshilfe im Rahmen einer neuen Sahel-Strategie, sowie militärisch im Nachbarstaat Niger. Mit bis zu 60 deutschen Soldatinnen und Soldaten will sie sich an einer EU-Mission zur Ausbildung der nigrischen Streitkräfte beteiligen.
The new junta, however, insisted it was going nowhere. In a statement before the summit, it warned forcefully against any foreign military intervention.
“We want to once more remind ECOWAS or any other adventurer of our firm determination to defend our homeland,” a junta spokesman said on Saturday night in a televised statement.
Two neighbouring countries, Mali and Burkina Faso, have experienced coups triggered by jihadist uprisings in recent years.
In both countries the new military leaders have fallen out with France, the former colonial power, which also formerly ruled Niger.
Demnach sollen sich bis zu 60 deutsche Soldaten an der EU Military Partnership Mission Niger (EUMPM Niger) beteiligen, die die nigrischen Streitkräfte ausbilden und sie beim Ausbau ihrer Strukturen unterstützen wird. Niger, dessen Präsident Mohamed Bazoum klar prowestlich orientiert ist, soll sich als Anker für den Westen in der Sahelzone erweisen, nachdem Mali eine enge Kooperation mit Russland eingegangen ist und sich auch Burkina Faso von den Mächten Europas ab- und Moskau zuzuwenden beginnt.
(April 8, 2023)
Forty-four civilians have been killed by “armed terrorist groups” in two villages in north-eastern Burkina Faso, near the Niger border, a regional governor said Saturday.
Burkina’s beleaguered army has recently acquired foreign-made drones, and regularly issues video footage of strikes against purported terrorists and troops described as reconquering and securing lost territory.
(June 13, 2022)
Armed men killed at least 100 civilians in a rural district of northern Burkina Faso close to the border with Niger over the weekend, a security source said.
The attackers targeted men but appeared to spare women and children in Seytenga district on Saturday night, the security source and two other sources said, all speaking on condition of anonymity.
Das Mandat ist befristet bis Ende Mai 2024, die einsatzbedingten Zusatzausgaben beziffert die Bundesregierung für diesen Zeitraum auf 8,7 Millionen Euro.
In den letzten Jahren habe sich die Sicherheitslage in der Sahelregion trotz erheblicher internationaler Unterstützung weiter verschlechtert, schreibt die Regierung.
Während die Bundesregierung an der UN-Mission also festhält, wird der zweite Einsatz, die Ausbildungsmission für malische Streitkräfte im Rahmen der EU-Mission EUTM, auf minimalem Niveau eingefroren beziehungsweise ins Nachbarland Niger verlagert.
Ein Grund dafür ist die Präsenz russischer Kräfte in Mali:
Die Bundeswehr hatte einen solchen Blimp auch für ihr Camp in Gao im benachbarten Mali geplant, war aber zuletzt am Nein der Vereinten Nationen gescheitert.
The army has since mid-April been fighting the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), drawn mainly from the Goran ethnic group, in the Kanem desert region along the border with Niger.
German naval commandos are training Niger’s special forces and the Luftwaffe has an air base in the country as part of the MINUSMA operation in Mali.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his counterparts from Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Niger jointly met with General Mahamat Idriss Deby before the funeral of his father, a presidential official said.
Security was tight in Niamey Friday amid fears that the inauguration could prompt more violence in Niger.
After some hints to the contrary, it turns out French troops in the Sahel aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. So said President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on February 16, even before his virtual summit with France’s former-colonial „partners“ – Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, and Chad – comprising the G5 Sahel Joint Force. Formed in 2014, it’s described in bureaucratic Paris-speak as „an intergovernmental cooperation framework, in order to put forward a regional response to the various challenges.“ In reality, the G5 are little more than a misfit crew of problematic proxies doing the bidding of the French generals leading a seven years-running Operation Barkhane – and that of America’s AFRICOM proconsuls propping-up Paris’s pet forever war in the Sahel.
Niger‘s ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoum was declared on Tuesday the winner of its presidential election, while his opponent alleged fraud and opposition supporters burned tyres in the streets.
Ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoum is seen by many as the favourite after leading in the first round on Dec. 27 with 39.3% of the vote. He is up against former president Mahamane Ousmane, who scored 17%.
(20.06.2013)
Der Friedensforscher Andreas Buro vom Komitee für Grundrechte und Demokratie geht davon aus, dass es bei der militärischen Intervention in Mali nicht nur um den Kampf gegen Islamisten geht. Es handelt sich in seinen Augen auch nicht um ein kurzlebiges Ereignis, sondern der Krieg um Mali soll nach dem Willen der westlichen Führungsmächte eine EU-europäische Angelegenheit werden, Mali sowie die ganze Sahelzone soll zur Einflusssphäre der EU werden.
Damit einher geht für Andreas Buro eine zukünftige Aufgabenteilung des Westens. Die USA werden sich mehr dem Pazifik zuwenden und die EU soll Afrika übernehmen.
Das EUTM-Mandatsgebiet wird zudem auf alle G5-Sahelstaaten – Mauretanien, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger und Tschad – ausgeweitet. Damit wird dem grenzübergreifenden Agieren der Terroristen Rechnung getragen.
President Idris Deby says Chadian troops will no longer take part in military operations outside the country‘s borders.
In diesem Kontext wird nun das Mandat der EUTM drastisch ausgeweitet. Bereits in den vergangenen Jahren war es der Trainingsmission immer mehr erlaubt worden, auch jenseits des relativ sicheren Südens Ausbildungsmaßnahmen durchzuführen und diese auch für Angehörige anderer G5-Staaten anzubieten. Hierzu wurden u.a. mobile Teams gebildet, aber auch erste Ankerpunkte in anderen großen Feldlagern aufgebaut.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who was set to brief the meeting on the results of Sunday‘s international summit in Berlin, is also attending.
Niemand würde in Abrede stellen, dass die Franzosen und ihre wüstenerprobten Fremdenlegionäre den Fall des Vielvölkerstaates Mali in die Hände der Salafisten verhindert haben. Die Uno-Truppe Minusma nimmt dagegen nur defensive Aufgaben wahr.
Dessen ungeachtet stößt die französische Truppenpräsenz in den fünf betroffenen Ländern auf wachsenden Widerstand der Bevölkerungen.
Frankreichs »Krieg gegen den Terrorismus« in der afrikanischen Sahelzone kennt nur einen Gewinner: Den militärisch-industriellen Komplex
Die Opération Tacouba geht allerdings insofern darüber hinaus, als in ihrem Rahmen die Spezialkräfte aus Europa die malischen Militärs in Kampfeinsätze begleiten sollen. Tacouba wäre neben dem französischen Kampfeinsatz „Opération Barkhane“ mit gut 4.000 Soldaten, an dem sich zunehmend Einheiten aus weiteren europäischen Ländern beteiligen, neben dem EU-Ausbildungseinsatz EUTM Mali (620 Soldaten) und der UN-Operation MINUSMA (rund 13.300 Soldaten, beinahe 2.000 Polizisten) das vierte Interventionsformat.
The „partnership‘s“ substance and objectives are still rather nebulous. Apparently, it will be the third attempt since 2013 to strongly enhance the repressive activities. Merkel, in any case, has announced that „the troops and police forces of the G5 countries“ should be each „reinforced nationally.“
Auf die Frage, was Präsident Kagame motiviere, Flüchtlinge aus Libyen nach Ruanda zu holen, ist regelmäßig zu hören, er erwarte von der EU finanzielle wie auch politische Gegenleistungen.[14] Tatsächlich wird Ruanda, eine frühere deutsche Kolonie, seit je von Berlin unterstützt – vor allem über das Entwicklungsministerium. Erst in der vergangenen Woche ist Entwicklungsminister Gerd Müller in Kigali gewesen und hat dort bekanntgegeben, Berlin werde Kigali noch mehr als bisher fördern – unter anderem mit einer Ausbildungsinitiative sowie mit Investitionen in Energie und die digitale Infrastruktur.