Niger junta threatens to kill ousted President Bazoum if ECOWAS sends in troops

Leaders of the Niger military junta that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 have threatened to kill the ousted president if the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) carry out its recent threat of sending a regional military to force the country to restore democracy.

According to a report in The Associated Press, top officials of the Nigerien military junta reportedly told a top U.S. diplomat that they would kill the deposed Bazoum if the regional bloc attempted a military intervention to restore democratic rule.

The reports stated that a Western military official, while speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said the representatives of the junta told the U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to kill Bazoum during her visit to the country this week.

Read also: ECOWAS imposes fresh sanctions on Niger military junta

“Two Western officials told The Associated Press shortly before the West African bloc ECOWAS said it had directed the deployment of a “standby force” to restore democracy in Niger, after its deadline of Sunday to reinstate Bazoum expired,” the report said.

“The threat to the deposed president raises the stakes both for ECOWAS and for the junta, which has shown its willingness to escalate its actions since it seized power on July 26.”

Aneliese Bernard, a former U.S. State Department official who specialized in African affairs and is now director of Strategic Stabilization Advisors, a risk advisory group, while speaking with AP reporters on the situation in the country, said:

“The threats from both sides escalate tensions but hopefully nudge them closer to actually talking. Still, this junta has escalated its moves so quickly that it’s possible they do something more extreme, as that has been their approach so far,” she cautioned.

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