Sanctions, Niger Army Clampdown Worsen Deprivations for Civilians

Nigeriens gather in front of the French army headquarters, in support of the coup soldiers and to demand the French army to leave, in Niamey, Niger, on Sept. 2, 2023. Mahamadou Hamidou/Reuters

Niger’s military junta has commissioned Africa’s longest oil pipeline, which will allow the landlocked nation to sell its crude on the international market for the first time and tap the global energy market, amid stringent international sanctions and isolation.

In launching the first phase of the 1,200-mile pipeline that will carry crude oil to neighboring Benin, Niger’s prime minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine touted that the resources from the project will be used to ensure the “sovereignty” and “development” of the poverty-stricken, aid-dependent country.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union, and the United States have imposed heavy sanctions on Niger since a military coup in late July that ousted democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.

However, observers are worried that the sanctions have emboldened the country’s military authorities—rather than deterred them—as everyday citizens run out of food and medicine, while electricity is in short supply.

In a recent interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), Mr. Lamine Zeine said the international sanctions imposed on his country aren’t only “inhumane,” but also smack of “injustice.”

“Even Ukraine, which is facing a war, is not cut off from anything. Mali [that has] had two separate coups, nobody said their electricity supply should stop,” Mr. Lamine Zeine stated.

“No country in the world has ever experienced such injustice, not even in times of war. As we are looking for a way out of this crisis, we hope we can regain our rights. We are also praying to God to be safe from [Islamist] terrorists. And we are trying to develop the country’s economy as soon as possible.”

Although the real reasons for the July coup in Niger remain unclear, the putschists used poor governance, poverty, and unsuccessful military campaigns against a jihadist insurgency as justifications.

In recent years, the increasing number of coups in Africa, particularly in Francophone Africa, has become a major concern for the West African bloc and the future of democracy in the region.

With a population of more than 26 million, Niger was a promising example of a fledgling democracy in the region—holding a crucial strategic position for Western powers in their fight against terrorism.

On Oct. 30, the United States announced its intention to suspend Niger and three other African countries from preferential trading access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) over human rights violations and failure to make democratic progress. The decision takes effect in January 2024.

The move came days after the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly rejected legislation that would have forced President Joe Biden to withdraw 1,100 U.S. troops from Niger, despite suspending military cooperation with the Sahel country.

France began pulling its soldiers from Niger earlier last month as requested by the military junta.

Islamist terrorists linked to the ISIS and al-Qaeda have multiplied attacks in Niger since the military takeover.

Incidents targeting civilians quadrupled in the month after the coup, and dozens of Nigerien soldiers have been killed. Militants killed about 30 Nigerien troops in a single attack early last month alone.

Rights Groups Denounce Abuses

In a damning report released on Oct. 26, rights groups Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International accused Niger’s military junta of arbitrarily arresting dozens of officials from the ousted government and cracking down on critical media and peaceful dissent since the coup.

The report further states that Mr. Bazoum, his wife, and son have been detained at the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey, while other officials—including former petroleum minister Sani Mahamadou Issoufou, former home affairs minister Hamadou Adamou Souley, former defense minister Kalla Moutari, and former finance minister Ahmad Jidoud—have been arrested.

Government agents also have been accused of intimidating members of media organizations and journalists.

Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch, restated the organization’s call on Niger’s military junta to ensure the rights of detainees, release those who have been arbitrarily arrested, and protect journalists.

“Our findings show an increasing government crackdown on opposition, dissent, and independent media,” Ms. Allegrozzi told The Epoch Times.

“Journalists told us about their growing challenges in getting their work done safely and freely. They said they have been harassed, intimidated, and are more and more practicing self-censorship to survive.”

A convoy of French troops based in Niger drives in Niamey, on Oct. 10, 2023. Mahamadou Hamidou/Reuters

The sanctions imposed by ECOWAS are having a “disproportionate” effect on civilians, Ms. Allegrozzi said.

“In an already particularly fragile context, in which one in six Nigeriens need humanitarian assistance, any sanctions [against the] regime must imperatively respect international humanitarian law, guarantee the protection of civilians, and ensure safe, continuous, and unhindered access to the most vulnerable populations, notably through the inclusion of humanitarian exemptions,” she told The Epoch Times.

She said Niger is at a “critical juncture,” further hinting that the threat of a military intervention by ECOWAS could only “worsen an already fragile situation.”

“A settlement of the crisis through dialogue and diplomatic channels should be given priority.”

Ousmane Diallo, a Sahel researcher at Amnesty International’s regional office for West and Central Africa, told The Epoch Times that the military authorities in Niger are “ready to crack down on all voices that divert from the line that they have traced.”

He also said most of the detainees who have been accused of high treason are tried at the military courts instead of civilian courts.

“Vigilante groups patrol the roundabout in Niamey to check private vehicles for fear that they may be transporting weapons, or harboring spies for ECOWAS or France,” Mr. Diallo told The Epoch Times.

He believes that rights violations are happening with the full knowledge of the international community.

“The international community is very much aware ... the challenge is to have a unified voice on how to respond to the situation in Niger,” according to the Amnesty International researcher.

“Niger is at a critical juncture because it has been three months since the coup and the situation could go either way.

“It could go very badly with the continuation of human rights violations and the attempts to stifle independent voices with the disrespect of the due process of the law.”

Junta Clampdown Not ‘Surprising’

Freedom Chukwudi Onuoha, senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and coordinator of the security, violence, and conflict research group at the university, says the scale and speed with which the junta in Niger has suppressed human rights of ousted government officials and ordinary citizens isn’t “entirely surprising,” given that the use of force, intimidation, and violence is integral to the consolidation of power by almost all military rulers or regime.

“I think the heightened incidence of [the] crackdown on the media and protesters by the junta is motivated by growing fear and suspicion among the putschists that external actors may be behind such dissent rather than read as a genuine quest by the people for a speedy return to civilian rule,” Mr. Onuoha told The Epoch Times.

Coupled with the fact that the ECOWAS and some Western countries have deeply sidelined the junta, he explained, Mr. Bazoum and his officials are bound to suffer “some level of aggression” from the junta.

Observers had warned that the removal of Mr. Bazoum from office would have ripple effects for many years to come: It first put an end to Niger’s experiment with elective democracy, then put the country under pressure from regional partners.

France’s withdrawal from Niger has been widely seen as a recognition that Mr. Bazoum isn’t going to be reinstated in power any time soon and that the ECOWAS negotiations with the junta over a transition back to civilian rule could be the only way forward.

It’s also seen as an acknowledgment of the end of France’s current strategy of supporting democratic governments to repel jihadists in the Sahel.

Mohamed Zayed, chairman of the Arab African Council on Socioeconomic Development and International Consulting Limited, believes that the arrests and detentions in Niger haven’t been arbitrary.

Rather, they have been supported by the “majority” of the population, he says.

“No abuse has been found by any observers and it’s been surprisingly professional and organized ... including the expulsion of the French ambassador to Niger,” Mr. Zayed told The Epoch Times.

“In any military coup, there is always something driving it and in this case, it is a region-wide realization that many African states under the French monetary construct collectively woke up at once to the fact that they were being robbed by France and some other countries of their valuable natural resources—in particular in the case of Niger—uranium has been looted by force of blackmail in their view for some decades, powering France when Niger is without electricity and sometimes food.”

Consequently, Mr. Zayed continued, the grassroots population supported new, intelligent, young, and vibrant charismatic military leaders in their organized political coup.

“This is in many ways the best expression of democracy when the majority support the change of corrupt and criminally infested government officials,” he said.

Mr. Onuoha of the University of Nigeria doesn’t foresee Niger faring “any better” in security and political stability than it has before the July coup.

“If anything, it is very likely that the internal security situation will worsen as sanctions depress the economy and deny the junta inflow of money to deliver on essential public goods, including security,” he told The Epoch Times.

“In addition, the logic of regime security will mean that available national assets and resources will be redeployed or repurposed to attend to the needs of the military cohort, thereby leaving ordinary Nigeriens [vulnerable] to security stresses and stressors emanating from armed non-state actors and other criminal groups.”