The military junta that seized power in Niger has accused France of plotting military intervention to reinstate the deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, as tensions in the region continued to grow in the wake of the coup, reports The Guardian.
The junta said on national TV that France was searching “for ways and means to intervene militarily in Niger” and had held a meeting with the chief of staff of Niger’s national guard “to obtain the necessary political and military authorisation”.
The French foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, denied any alleged intention of military intervention in the west African country. “It’s wrong,” she told BFMTV news channel on Monday night, adding that it was still possible to return Niger’s democratically elected president to power. “And it’s necessary because destabilisation is perilous for Niger and its neighbours,” she said.
Bazoum, an ally of western powers, was toppled on 26 July in a coup by Niger’s elite presidential guard. Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani declared himself leader but his claim has been shunned internationally.
On Monday, Bazoum’s party said several ministers in his ousted government had been arrested, including the mines minister. Niger is the world’s seventh-biggest producer of uranium, the radioactive metal widely used for nuclear energy and treating cancer.
The Chadian president, Mahamat Idriss Déby, who flew to Niger to try to mediate, on Monday posted what appeared to be the first images of Bazoum since the takeover, showing him smiling and apparently unharmed.
Déby said he had met Bazoum and coup leader Tchiani to explore ways “to find a peaceful solution”, without going into further detail.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has given the junta a week to give back power, warning in a statement that if Bazoum was not reinstated it would take “all measures” to restore constitutional order, which “may include the use of force”.
ECOWAS has suspended all commercial and financial transactions, while France, the EU and the US, which has about 1,000 troops in Niger, have either cut off support or threatened to do so.