Mali and Burkina Faso will not tolerate military intervention in Niger, said the head of the two countries’ delegation, Mali’s Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, after a meeting with the current authorities in Niger.
He noted that the delegations reaffirmed the decision of their authorities to “fully participate in self-defense operations” with Niger’s forces in case of intervention.
“One thing is for sure: Presidents (Mali Assimi) Goita and (Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim) Traoré have said ‘no, no and no’. We will not tolerate military intervention in Niger,” Maiga said, quoted by aBamako.
The Malian army said earlier that Mali and Burkina Faso were sending a government delegation led by the Malian minister of territorial administration and a government official to Niger as a sign of solidarity.
In early August, an emergency meeting of the chiefs of general staff of the armed forces of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja adopted a contingency plan for military intervention in Niger, with the community earlier saying military intervention would be the last option under consideration.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said France would not provide military support to ECOWAS in the event of a possible military intervention in Niger. Military intervention by Western countries was opposed by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who said it would be perceived as a new colonization. Chadian Defense Minister Daoud Yaya Brahim stressed that his country was not going to participate in any military operations on the territory of Niger. Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboun said on Sunday that a possible military intervention in Niger would be a direct threat to his country.
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