Niger's junta told US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland they would kill deposed Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum if neighboring countries would attempt any military intervention to restore his rule.
According to the Associated Press, two Western officials told its reporters about the threat, on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, before the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced they have approved of the deployment of a "standby force" to restore Bazoum to power without giving details about its make-up, location or proposed date of deployment.
Bazoum is currently held hostage since he was deposed by coup leaders on July 26.
Separately, the leaders of nine of the 15 ECOWAS member states met Thursday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to discuss their next steps after the junta defied their August 6 deadline to reinstate Bazoum.
The bloc has considered both economic sanctions and military intervention as their means to return to civilian government.
ECOWAS commission president Omar Alieu Touray blamed the Niamey junta for any hardship caused by the harsh economic and travel sanctions imposed on Niger, saying that further action would be taken jointly and not by any single country.
"It is not one country against another country," he said. "The community has instruments to which all members have subscribed to."
ECOWAS Gives Green Light on Military Positioning
According to a former British Army official who worked in Nigeria, the ECOWAS statement could be seen as a green light for member states to begin assembling their forces with the ultimate aim of restoring constitutional order.
The official said there was currently nothing in place regarding the use of force other than Nigerian forces. Without enablers and the support of other regional armies, it's unlikely they'd enter, the official added.
Recently, a former Nigerien rebel named Rhissa Ag Boula launched his counter-coup against the Niamey junta called the Council of Resistance for the Republic. In a statement Wednesday (August 9), He said he and his group support ECOWAS and other international actors seeking to restore constitutional order in Niger, saying his group would make itself available to the bloc for any useful purpose.
On the other hand, former Nigerian presidential aide Reno Omokri urged ECOWAS to respond strongly to threats made by junta leader Abdourahmane Tchiani.
"I urge [Nigerian President Bola] Tinubu and ECOWAS to respond strongly with a warning that if General Tchiani carries out his threat, he will be treated as a common criminal when ECOWAS restores order," he said on social media. "This threat calls for decisiveness, not niceness!"
Analyst: ECOWAS Should Still Seek Diplomatic Means on Niger
Meanwhile, international think tank Crisis Group senior adviser Nnamdi Obasi said ECOWAS should still explore diplomatic means to deal with Niger and its junta.
"We need to tread cautiously on the idea of using force in resolving the crisis," he warned. "The use of force could lead to unintended and catastrophic consequences with unpredictable outcomes."
He added that military intervention would trigger a "major regional conflict" between democratic governments and an alliance of military regimes.
Niger was seen as the last country in the Sahel region that western nations could partner with to counter jihadi violence linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, which killed thousands and displaced millions of people in the process.
Niger's Junta Adamant in Staying in Power
On the other hand, Nigerian security analyst Oladeinde Ariyo said any coup that succeeded beyond 24 hours would mean any negotiation with the plotters would have to be on their own terms.
"[A]s it is, they are speaking from the point of strength and advantage," Ariyo added.
On Wednesday, a Nigerian delegation met with Tchiani. However, Nuland was denied access to both Tchiani and Bazoum. A separate delegation composed of ECOWAS, the United Nations, and the African Union was barred from coming at all.
The Russian Connection
Since seizing power, the junta has cut ties with former colonizer France and other Western countries but increasingly asked for the help of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, who currently has a foothold in several African nations, and following their operation in Ukraine and Yevgeny Prigozhin's failed mutiny against Moscow, have been training in Belarus for a future expansion in the Sahel.
All Eyes on Wagner investigator Lou Osborn asserted the Kremlin was using Wagner and other channels of influence to discredit Western nations, such as using social media to spread rumors about Wagner's upcoming arrival in Niger, as well as employing fake accounts to mobilize demonstrations and spread false narratives.
She additionally pointed to a Telegram post on Wednesday by an alleged Wagner operative named Alexander Ivanov, asserting that France had begun the "mass removal of children," likely to be used for slave labor and sexual exploitation.
Both the Kremlin and Wagner did not respond to reporters' questions about the accusations, but Sahel experts said such influences would leverage Russia's opportunity to gain a stronger foothold in the region, which Western nations were trying to avoid.
Related Article: Niger: Ex-Rebel Launches Anti-Coup Movement to Restore Bazoum
