The Clock Is Ticking for Niger’s Rogue Junta

West African leaders have given the leaders of Niger’s military coup a week’s deadline to hand power back over to President Mohamed Bazoum or potentially face military action. 

Last week, a group of military generals, led by Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, ousted Bazoum in a coup. Tchiani, who was previously the head of the presidential guard, claimed that the takeover was needed to stop the “gradual and inevitable demise of our country.”

On Sunday, the leaders of ECOWAS, West Africa’s main political and economic union, released a joint statement after a meeting in Abuja promising to "take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order" in Niger. 

The threat by ECOWAS, which is led by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, has been praised by the US government. In a statement, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken offered his “support for President Tinubu’s continued efforts to restore constitutional order in Niger.”

The military junta has warned ECOWAS and “certain Western countries” that they will do everything in their power to “defend our homeland.”

“I ask the technical and financial partners who are friends of Niger to understand the specific situation of our country in order to provide it with all the support necessary to enable it to meet the challenges,” Tchiani added in a statement. 

Hundreds of Nigeriens have taken to the streets in support of the coup, with some seen waving Russian flags and burning flags of France, the country’s former colonial ruler. 

Experts believe the junta will join military leaders in Mali and Burkina Faso in forming a military and economic alliance with Russia as the country looks to push away from what many in their countries see as the overbearing influence of France.