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The release of Niger’s detained former president was not a precondition for the regional bloc to lift sanctions imposed on the country after last year’s coup, according to a senior West African diplomat who attended the talks.
The failure to secure the immediate release of Mohamed Bazoum in exchange for the lifting of sanctions this weekend is a sign of the weakness of the Economic Community of West African States, which had originally threatened to invade Niger if the junta did not reverse the coup d’état last July.
Ecowas applied harsh sanctions to Niger after Bazoum was deposed in a coup led by the head of its presidential guard, General Omar Tchiani, who now serves as president of the ruling National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland junta .
An Ecowas spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the details of the sanctions agreement, but the diplomat said talks were underway with the junta on a binding agreement for Bazoum’s release.
The sanctions were lifted after a meeting of ECOWAS heads of state in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, in a deal brokered by Togo. Many regional analysts expected that any easing of sanctions would depend on Bazoum being granted freedom. The former president has been under house arrest since the coup. His son was released last month and lives in Lomé, the capital of Togo.
“We have lifted the sanctions because we cannot destroy Ecowas,” the diplomat said. “Ecowas is a big family and we must do everything to keep it going, despite the disagreements we have between us.”
Ecowas is trying to dissuade the three junta-controlled countries, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, from leaving the bloc after they threatened a joint withdrawal last month. In addition to Ecowas’ strength as a bloc, officials are believed to be concerned about the fate of citizens of the three Sahel countries living in other Ecowas states under the bloc’s free movement of people provisions.
Economic sanctions against Guinea, which has been under military rule since 2021, were also lifted and restrictions on the recruitment of Malian citizens for positions within Ecowa bodies were lifted.
In a statement after the sanctions were lifted, the bloc called for the “immediate release” of Bazoum, his family members and other political prisoners.
The diplomat said talks were underway to free Bazoum and that he could be released next month, although a binding agreement has yet to be reached. Two sticking points are Bazoum’s continued refusal to officially step down as president and the junta’s desire to leave the country, a desire he has so far rejected, according to a person familiar with his thoughts.
The sanctions, including the closure of land and air borders between member states and Niger, cutting electricity supplies from Nigeria, blocking Niger from regional financial institutions and freezing state assets held in the region, were all revoked, as well as a no-fly zone imposed on commercial activities. flights to and from Niger and the suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between member states.
Niger, a major uranium producer and one of the world’s poorest nations, has been hit hard by the sanctions. Since July the new government in Niamey has cut spending and failed to pay debt for over 500 million dollars.