Niger’s coup leader makes first foreign trip

General’s visit to Mali and Burkina Faso saw all three military rulers reiterating a mutual commitment to defense against threats

Niger’s military ruler, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, has made his first visit abroad since taking control over the West African country in a coup. On Thursday, the leader traveled to neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, which are also governed by the military.

General Tchiani received a warm welcome in Bamako and Ouagadougou, where he thanked his counterparts for supporting Niger amid the sanctions and threats to it from regional and international sources following the overthrow of President Mohammed Bazoum.

The West African regional bloc ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Niger, including border closures and a trade embargo, in response to the July 26 military takeover. The 15-state bloc has also frozen Niamey’s accounts in regional central banks.

During his trip on Thursday, Abdourahamane said the support from the Malian and Burkinabe authorities allowed Niger to “resist the threats of ECOWAS, and to face the embargo” imposed by the organization.

“It would appear that the objective of the embargo was to exert pressure on the authorities, but this does not take into account the fact that it is the people who suffer, and we are aware of that. That’s why we are willing to exchange, to negotiate, but with people who are motivated by good intentions, with sincere people, with people who care about the African people,” he said, according to AFP news agency.

Both Mali and Burkina Faso have expressed solidarity with Niger’s coup leadership, warning against military interventions, which ECOWAS has threatened to use to restore Bazoum’s rule, which began in 2021.

In September, the three countries, all former French colonies, signed a charter agreeing to assist each other, either individually or collectively, in cases of external aggression or internal threats to their sovereignty. The pact established the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) of the three countries, which had previously been members of the Paris-backed G5 Sahel agreement, along with Chad and Mauritania. The G5 accord has since collapsed, following a series of military coups in the region.

Mali’s interim president, Assimi Goita, said in a statement posted on social platform X that talks with General Tchiani on Thursday focused on “mutual aid between sister countries of the Sahel and the complete operationalization of AES.”

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Later that day, in Ouagadougou, the Nigerien leader and military ruler Ibrahim Traore discussed “issues common to the two countries, particularly the fight against terrorism and socio-economic development issues,” Burkina Faso’s presidency said in a statement.

General Tchiani hailed the creation of the AES, which he believes will transform the Sahel region from a “zone of insecurity” to a “zone of prosperity.”

The Sahel nations have been embroiled in a decade-long jihadist insurgency, which France was, for a time, involved in combating. However, recent coups in the region have strained relations between Paris and the military regimes in Bamako, Ouagadougou and Niamey, forcing the former colonial power to withdraw its troops from all three states.