Niger coup leaders accuse France of plotting military intervention
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.
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”.
The writer and analyst Seidik Abba told France Inter that the broader problem for Paris was that the poor results of its military and security drive against jihadists had made France a scapegoat. He said the strategy in the Sahel had been a security and military one, when in fact “it wasn’t just a security and military issue, it was also a question of development, justice and governance”.
