Canada is speaking out against a coup d鈥櫭﹖at in Niger, but hasn鈥檛 joined other nations in threatening to cut aid to the West African country.
Last Wednesday, a faction of Niger鈥檚 military claimed to have overthrown the country鈥檚 democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum after detaining him in his palace.
In a tweet Friday evening, Global Affairs Canada wrote that Ottawa 鈥渟trongly condemns the attempted coup鈥� in Niger and calls for Bazoum鈥檚 release.
鈥淲e reaffirm our support for Niger鈥檚 democracy and reiterate our call for President Bazoum鈥檚 release,鈥� the department wrote, while expressing support for the Economic Community of West African States, a group of 15 countries known as ECOWAS.
That bloc has threatened to sanction leaders of the military junta and send in troops if Bazoum isn鈥檛 restored to power within a week.
Britain and the European Union have pulled aid from the country, while Washington has mulled following suit. The Trudeau government has given no indication it is thinking of cutting back on development and humanitarian dollars for Niger, which has amounted to roughly $60 million per year.
The tumult in Niger is the latest in a series of attempted coups across the Sahel region, where the so-called Islamic State group has been recruiting militants and committing massacres. The political instability comes as the Russian mercenary group Wagner meddles in countries across the region.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last met with Bazoum in November at a summit in Tunisia, where he praised his 鈥渓eadership in progressive values鈥� such as women鈥檚 inclusion and democracy in a region of rising authoritarianism.
At the time, Bazoum noted Canada had been less present in his country since the 1970s when Ottawa as the forefront of development programs.
鈥淲e have a little distancing and we鈥檙e going to work on that (to) make sure that our ties make us even closer,鈥� Bazoum said in French on Nov. 20, 2022. 鈥淲e will be committed to making our relationship stronger.鈥�
Four nations are run by military governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.
ECOWAS said Sunday that all its member countries will suspend commercial and financial transactions with Niger and freeze assets in regional central banks.
The economic sanctions could have a deep effect on Nigeriens, who live in the third-poorest country in the world, according to the latest United Nations data. The country relies on imports from Nigeria for up to 90 per cent 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鈥檚 Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told French media outlet Radio France Internationale on Sunday.
鈥淲hen people say there鈥檚 an embargo, land borders are closed, air borders are closed, it鈥檚 extremely difficult for people 鈥� Niger is a country that relies heavily on the international community,鈥� he said in French.
The 15-nation ECOWAS bloc has unsuccessfully tried to restore democracies in nations where the military took power in recent years.
In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war. In 2017, it intervened in Gambia to prevent the new president鈥檚 predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Around 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered, 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 civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say.
鈥淲hile this remains to be a threat and unlikely action, the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic,鈥� said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.
Lyammouri also said he does not see a 鈥渕ilitary intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger.鈥�
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken commended ECOWAS鈥檚 leadership Sunday to 鈥渄efend constitutional order in Niger鈥� after the sanctions announcement, and joined the bloc in calling for the immediate release of Bazoum and his family.
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