Amid an ongoing threat by West Africa’s main regional bloc to take military action to reverse the coup in Niger, the country allows Mali and Burkina Faso to intervene militarily in case of an attack on its soil.
Coup leaders toppled Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, following which the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) threatened to use force if they refused to return Bazoum to power. The bloc reiterated the threat earlier this month, saying an undisclosed “D-Day” had been agreed for possible military intervention in Niger.
On Thursday, the Malian, Burkinabe, and Nigerien foreign ministers said they had met in the Nigerien capital Niamey to discuss boosting cooperation on security and other joint issues.
The statement said the ministers had welcomed the signing by Niger’s junta leader General Abdourahamane Tiani of two orders “authorizing the Defense and Security Forces of Burkina Faso and Mali to intervene on Nigerien territory in the event of an attack.”
It also noted that Bamako and Ouagadougou would consider any incursion against Niger to be a “declaration of war” on their respective soils.
“The Burkinabe and Malian Ministers … reiterated their rejection of an armed intervention against the people of Niger which will be considered as a declaration of war,” the statement said.
On Sunday, however, Tiani said Niger was open to dialogue to avert a conflict with ECOWAS. Neither coup leaders nor “the Nigerien people want war and remain open to dialogue,” he said.
The coup leader warned, though, at the same time that Niger was prepared to defend itself if needed. “If an aggression were to be undertaken against us, it would not be the walk in the park that some believe,” Tiani noted.
