Niger coup leaders to prosecute deposed president for ‘high treason’ – National | 24CA News
Niger’s mutinous troopers mentioned they may prosecute deposed President Mohamed Bazoum for “high treason” and undermining state safety, in an announcement hours after the junta mentioned they had been open to dialogue with West African nations to resolve the mounting regional disaster.
If discovered responsible, Bazoum may face the dying penalty, in response to Niger’s penal code.
Spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane mentioned on state tv Sunday evening that the army regime had “gathered the necessary evidence to prosecute before competent national and international authorities the ousted president and his local and foreign accomplices for high treason and for undermining the internal and external security of Niger.”
The announcement mentioned high-ranking West African politicians and “their international mentors” have made false allegations and tried to derail a peaceable resolution to the disaster as a way to justify a army intervention. It mentioned Bazoum was being charged following his exchanges with these individuals. The assertion didn’t establish particular Western nations and didn’t specify a date for the trial.
Bazoum, Niger’s democratically elected president, was ousted by members of his presidential guard on July 26 and has since been beneath home arrest along with his spouse and son within the presidential compound within the capital, Niamey.
People near the president in addition to these in his ruling celebration say the household’s electrical energy and water have been lower off and so they’re operating out of meals. The junta dismissed these stories Sunday evening and accused West African politicians and worldwide companions of fueling a disinformation marketing campaign to discredit the junta.
International strain is rising on the junta to launch and reinstate Bazoum. Immediately after the coup, the West African regional bloc ECOWAS gave the regime seven days to return him to energy and threatened army pressure if it didn’t occur, however that deadline got here and went with no motion from both facet.
Last week, ECOWAS ordered the deployment of a “standby” pressure, but it surely’s nonetheless unclear when or if it will enter the nation. The African Union Peace and Security Council is assembly on Monday to debate Niger’s disaster and will overrule the choice if it felt that wider peace and safety on the continent was threatened by an intervention.
But as time drags on there’s rising uncertainty and combined messages are mounting.
On Sunday night, earlier than the army accused Bazoum of treason, a member of the junta’s communication group informed journalists that the regime had authorized talks with ECOWAS, which might happen within the coming days. That similar day, a mediation group of Islamic students from neighboring Nigeria who had met with the junta on the weekend, mentioned the regime was open to dialogue with ECOWAS.
Previous makes an attempt by ECOWAS to talk with the junta have foundered, with its delegations being barred from getting into the nation.
The newfound openness to talks may very well be a results of ECOWAS strain, together with extreme financial and journey sanctions which might be already taking a toll on the impoverished nation’s some 25 million individuals, but it surely doesn’t imply they’ll go wherever, say Sahel consultants.
“Let’s see what these negotiations actually look like, because it’s also in the junta’s benefit to in the least entertain talks. That doesn’t mean they’ll be serious about them,” mentioned Aneliese Bernard, a former U.S. State Department official who specialised in African affairs and is now director of Strategic Stabilization Advisors, a danger advisory group.
But whereas speak of dialogue ensues, so does army mobilization.
In a memo from Senegal’s safety forces dated Aug. 11, seen by The Associated Press, it ordered the “regroupment” from bases in Senegal on Monday as a part of its contribution to the ECOWAS mission in Niger. It was unclear what precisely was ordered to maneuver, or the place it was going.
In the weeks for the reason that coup, the junta has entrenched itself in energy, appointing a brand new authorities and leveraging anti-French sentiment towards its former colonial ruler to shore up help among the many inhabitants, making a tense surroundings for locals who oppose the junta in addition to many foreigners and journalists.
In a press release Sunday, the board of administrators for the Press House, an unbiased Nigerien group that protects journalists, mentioned native and worldwide media had been being threatened, and intimidated by Nigerien activists who help the junta and it was deeply involved concerning the “very difficult climate” they had been working in.
Since the coup, jihadi violence can also be rising. Niger was seen by Western nations as one of many final democratic nations within the Sahel area it may accomplice with to beat again rising jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. France and the United States and different European nations have poured a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} into propping up Niger’s army. Since the coup, France and the United States have suspended army operations.
On Sunday, Nigerien safety forces had been ambushed by fighters believed to be with the Islamic State group who attacked them on a dozen bikes, in response to a safety report for help teams seen by AP.
This mixed with one other assault final week claimed by the al-Qaida linked group often called JNIM, signify a brand new section of the battle the place teams are attempting to consolidate energy, and it’s largely a consequence of the suspended army operations, mentioned Wassim Nasr, a journalist and senior analysis fellow on the Soufan Center, informed The Associated Press.
“This is due to the halting of cooperation and the military being busy with consolidating their coup in Niamey,” he mentioned. It’s additionally a results of reducing communication and dialogue makes an attempt with some jihadi teams, which had been established beneath Bazoum, he mentioned.
A former jihadi, Boubacar Moussa, informed AP that for the reason that coup he’s obtained a number of telephone calls from energetic jihadis saying they’ve been celebrating the chaos and larger freedom of motion.
Moussa is a part of a nationwide program that encourages jihadi fighters to defect and reintegrate into society, nonetheless, it’s unclear if that program will proceed beneath the army regime. As the state of affairs evolves, he believes jihadis will benefit from the safety hole and launch new assaults.
Associated Press reporter Lorian Belanger in Shintotsukawa, Japan, and Jean-Fernand Koena in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, contributed to this report.
