The military coup in Niger

The headquarters of the ruling party in flames in Niger on Thursday. Fatahoulaye Hassane Midou / AP

 

The military coup in Niger  

The EU stops billions of aid to Niger after the military coup - demands that Bazoum be released  

 

The EU is completely ending its financial support to Niger following the military coup this week, in which Abdourahmane Tchiani seized power from President Mohamed Bazoum. The Union announces this in a press release. 

 

According to Deutsche Welle, the EU has previously allocated over 500 million euros to Niger, almost six billion kroner, between 2021 and 2024.  

 

The EU also demands that the constitutional order be restored immediately. 

 

“President Bazoum was elected democratically; he is therefore and remains the only legitimate president of Niger. His release must be unconditional and without delay.” Bazoum took office after the 2021 elections, which were Niger's first peaceful change of government since the country gained independence from France.  

 

 

Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin/supporter of coup plotters in Niger. TT 

 

Top diplomat: Obviously, Russia laid the foundation 

  

The coup d'état in Niger may be exploited by Russia in order to increase the country's influence in the region, writes WSJ. According to John Peter Pham, a former American diplomat in Africa, it is clear that Russian interests contributed to the coup. 

 

- Russia may not have participated and supported the coup directly, but it is obvious that they have laid the foundations for it. Whether you then manage to use it is another question, he tells the newspaper.  

 

The situation in Niger worries leaders in the Western world, not least in the United States, which has been allied with the country's captured President Mohamed Bazoum in the fight against militant terrorist groups in West Africa. A senior US intelligence official tells the WSJ that the country is "the last domino" in the region. 

- If Niger falls, I don't really know what we will do.  

 

According to the White House, there is no evidence that either Russia or the Wagner group are behind the coup.