Niger junta leaders evacuate families to Burkina Faso, Dubai

Niger junta leaders evacuate families to Burkina Faso, Dubai

 

Leaders of the Niger junta have reportedly begun to evacuate their families to Bukina Faso and Dubai with a renewed threat by the Economic Community of West African States forces to invade the country.

The movement was said to have been carried out through the country’s Agadez Airport, a few days ago, and it involved Gulfstream G550 jets.

Arise News on Friday quoted a source familiar with the movement to have said, “In the night of Friday, 11th to Saturday 12th of August 2023, the Nigerien junta, under the command of General Tchiani, evacuated all the putschists’ families.

“Indeed, several Gulfstream G550 type aircraft (in particular flight No. BFY824R) took off from Agadez Airport to Burkina Faso and Dubai with their women and children on board.”

According to the source, “General Tchiani appears to have had intelligence of an imminent attack by ECOWAS.

“He protects his family and leaves Nigerien people behind to a certain death. While he shelters his family, Tchiani is ready to send soldiers into a fratricidal war.”

This is as ECOWAS said it was ready to intervene militarily in Niger Republic if diplomatic efforts to persuade the ruling military junta, which ousted President Mohamed Bazoum in a July 26 coup, to restore democracy in the country failed.

ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, disclosed this on Thursday in Ghana at a gathering of West African defence chiefs, who were meeting to deliberate on a standby force.

“Let no one be in doubt that if everything else fails, the valiant forces of West Africa…are ready to answer to the call of duty,” Reuters quoted Musah as saying.

“By all means available, constitutional order will be restored in the country,” he added

Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, said at the start of the two-day meeting in Accra, “Democracy is what we stand for and it’s what we encourage…

“The focus of our gathering is not simply to react to events, but to proactively chart a course that results in peace and promotes stability.”

The meeting to discuss Niger’s crisis came after the August 6 deadline for the mutinous soldiers to release and reinstate Bazoum or face military intervention.

Bazoum has remained under house arrest with his wife and son in Niger’s capital, Niamey.