Niger: Tension is growing

In update to our article dated July 28^th; On Tuesday, 1 August, more than 250 Europeans were airlifted from Niger by a French plane amid uncertainty over a regional conflict.  Paris announced its intention to send a second plane, and Rome to send its first. The US advised Americans to stay in touch with the embassy but did not lay out plans for the extraction of its nationals. The French evacuation occurred shortly after Burkina Faso and Mali announced their intention to support Niger's new military junta in case ECOWAS countries followed through on their threat to intervene unless the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, was reinstated. Worryingly, the crisis in Niger could potentially escalate into a wider regional conflict considering that 2600 US and French troops are currently located in the country. Uncertainty remains high, as ECOWAS has set a Sunday, 6 August, deadline for Mr. Bazoum’s reinstatement. For now, the West African block hopes to combat the coup through an economic blockade of landlocked Niger, which depends heavily on its neighbours for trade and financial stability.