West Africa in another bid to engage with Niger coup leaders | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
June 12, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2025
West Africa in another bid to engage with Niger coup leaders

World+Biz

Reuters
13 August, 2023, 10:30 am
Last modified: 13 August, 2023, 12:44 pm

Related News

  • Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad: 2 more senior leaders resign
  • 1 grave found empty, 23 other WWII Japanese soldiers’ remains repatriated
  • Home after 81 years: Japan repatriates remains of 24 WWII soldiers’ from Cumilla
  • Soldiers will be on streets until normalcy returns: Army chief
  • Jewish voices of reason: How dissenting voices view the Israel-Palestine conflict

West Africa in another bid to engage with Niger coup leaders

Niger's military last month imprisoned President Mohamed Bazoum and dissolved the elected government, drawing condemnation from regional powers which have activated a standby military force they say will be deployed as a last resort if talks fail.

Reuters
13 August, 2023, 10:30 am
Last modified: 13 August, 2023, 12:44 pm
Niger's junta supporters take part in a demonstration in front of a French army base in Niamey, Niger, 11 August 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS
Niger's junta supporters take part in a demonstration in front of a French army base in Niamey, Niger, 11 August 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS

West Africa's ECOWAS bloc aims to send a parliamentary committee to Niger to meet coup leaders who seized power last month, a spokesperson said on Saturday, part of a last ditch regional effort to restore civilian rule that includes religious leaders.

Niger's military last month imprisoned President Mohamed Bazoum and dissolved the elected government, drawing condemnation from regional powers which have activated a standby military force they say will be deployed as a last resort if talks fail.

But coup leaders, headed by General Abdourahamane Tiani, have rebuffed diplomatic efforts by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the United States and others, raising the spectre of further conflict in the impoverished Sahel region of West Africa, which is already overrun by a deadly Islamist insurgency.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

At stake is not just the fate of Niger - a major uranium producer and Western ally in the fight against the Islamists - but also the influence of rival global powers with strategic interests in West and Central Africa, where there have been seven coups in three years.

Niger coup supporters rally as regional force mulls intervention

US, French, German and Italian troops are stationed in Niger, in a region where local affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State have killed thousands and displaced millions.

Russian influence has been growing as insecurity increases, democracy erodes, and leaders seek new partners to restore order.

The ECOWAS parliament met on Saturday to discuss further action in Niger. No decision was made, but the parliament set up a committee that plans to meet Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who holds ECOWAS' revolving chairmanship, to get his permission to go to Niger, the spokesperson said.

A group of prominent Nigerian Islamic scholars led by Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau also met with Tinubu to get the green light for an intervention, which Tinubu granted, a Nigerian presidential source said on Saturday.

It was not clear if they were already in Niger, but their plan was to meet fellow clerics in Niger to smooth over the diplomatic impasse.

Russian Influence

Western powers fear Russian influence could increase if the junta in Niger follows neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso which expelled the troops of former colonial power France after coups in those countries.

Mali has since teamed up with mercenaries from Russian private military contractor Wagner Group, a move which has coincided with a spike in violence there. It has also kicked out a United Nations peacekeeping force, which security analysts fear could lead to further conflict.

In Niger's capital Niamey on Friday, thousands demonstrated in favour of the coup outside a French military base.

"Long live Russia," one protester's sign read. "Down with France ... Down with ECOWAS." Another said: "Wagner will protect our children from terrorism."

Regional army chiefs were set to meet in the coming days.

West African nations take steps towards forming military force for possible Niger intervention

If they chose to intervene, it was not clear how long the ECOWAS force would take to assemble, how big it would be and if it would actually invade. Security analysts said it could take weeks to set up.

Only Ivory Coast has said how many troops it would provide, and some countries, including Liberia and Cape Verde, have said they would prefer diplomacy. Russia has warned against military action.

Meanwhile, the African Union, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations all said they were worried about Bazoum's detention.

UN Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Friday said conditions were "rapidly deteriorating" and could amount to a violation of international human rights law.

Top News

Niger coup / soldiers / Leaders

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Aerial view of Grosvenor Square Gardens, London — home to several properties owned by influential families and businesses with ties to the Awami League. Photo: Google Earth
    Lengthy legal road ahead to repatriate Saifuzzaman's wealth from UK
  • From fact-checker to fact-checked: CA Press Wing’s turn in the hot seat
    From fact-checker to fact-checked: CA Press Wing’s turn in the hot seat
  • Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner showing part of its registration "VT-ANB" in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Amit Dave
    Air India plane crash: Not all dead, one survivor identified, 204 bodies recovered

MOST VIEWED

  • Keir Starmer declines to meet CA Yunus: FT report
    Keir Starmer declines to meet CA Yunus: FT report
  • Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner showing part of its registration "VT-ANB" in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Amit Dave
    Air India plane crash: Not all dead, one survivor identified, 204 bodies recovered
  • Saifuzzaman Chowdhury. Photo: Collected
    UK crime agency now freezes assets of ex-land minister Saifuzzaman: AJ
  • File Photo of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus: UNB
    Prof Yunus to receive Harmony Award from King Charles today
  • Infofgraphics: TBS
    DGHS issues 11-point directive to prevent spread of Covid-19 in Bangladesh
  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    Bangladesh mulls settlements with tycoons over offshore wealth: BB governor tells FT

Related News

  • Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad: 2 more senior leaders resign
  • 1 grave found empty, 23 other WWII Japanese soldiers’ remains repatriated
  • Home after 81 years: Japan repatriates remains of 24 WWII soldiers’ from Cumilla
  • Soldiers will be on streets until normalcy returns: Army chief
  • Jewish voices of reason: How dissenting voices view the Israel-Palestine conflict

Features

Among pet birds in the country, lovebirds are the most common, and they are also the most numerous in the haat. Photo: Junayet Rashel

Where feathers meet fortune: How a small pigeon stall became Dhaka’s premiere bird market

1d | Panorama
Illustration: Duniya Jahan/ TBS

Forget Katy Perry, here’s Bangladesh’s Ruthba Yasmin shooting for the moon

2d | Features
File photo of Eid holidaymakers returning to the capital from their country homes/Rajib Dhar

Dhaka: The city we never want to return to, but always do

3d | Features
Photo collage shows political posters in Bagerhat. Photos: Jannatul Naym Pieal

From Sheikh Dynasty to sibling rivalry: Bagerhat signals a turning tide in local politics

5d | Bangladesh

More Videos from TBS

Banks' estimates were wrong: Bangladesh Bank spokesperson

Banks' estimates were wrong: Bangladesh Bank spokesperson

3h | Podcast
What exactly happened to the ill-fated Boeing aircraft?

What exactly happened to the ill-fated Boeing aircraft?

4h | TBS World
Govt to set up Debt Office as loan burden to hit Tk29 lakh cr by FY28

Govt to set up Debt Office as loan burden to hit Tk29 lakh cr by FY28

4h | TBS Insight
Curfew imposed for second night in Los Angeles

Curfew imposed for second night in Los Angeles

5h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net