Niger Coup: ECOWAS vows to hold Russia responsible for Wagner’s actions; Russia Warns against military action

As a result of the recent military intervention in the Niger Republic and the incursion of private military companies into the West African coast, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has vowed to hold Russia responsible for any human rights violation committed by Wagner Group in the West African sub-region.

ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah made the comment while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, August 11, 2023 saying another West African country had a separate arrangement with the security outfit.

Wagner Group, a Russian state-funded private military company controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, has continued to gain a foothold in the Sahel, especially in Mali, where it’s helping to crush insurgencies.

The group has also been reportedly contacted by the Niger junta for backup against possible military action as threatened by ECOWAS.

“The Wagner Group, apparently, is in Mali today. The Malian government says this is an agreement between them and the Russian Federation,” he said.

He added that “We want to take them by their word, which means any sort of action that infringes on human rights or yeah, or devastation in our region by these private military contractors, we are going to hold the other countries of our region responsible for that.”

Asked if he meant Russia, Musah stressed, “That’s Russia — (we will hold them) responsible, diplomatically. The West African region is just not Russia.”

The ECOWAS official noted that private military companies had been a staple of the African conflict scene for years.

“Private military companies were involved in Sierra Leone. They were involved in Liberia during those civil wars, long ago. And even recently in the global conflict, there has been the use of private military companies.

“The Americans are using them in Iraq; in Afghanistan, they use them, and others. What we are seeing is that these groups are not acceptable in Africa, even though they are there and we are going to hold their countries of origin responsible for any violations,” he added.

Highlighting the current involvement of the Western forces in Niger, including France and the European Union (EU), Musah disclosed that the region had also seen an influx of Middle Eastern nations such as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

“What we are saying is that we are not going to allow West Africa to be an arena of proxy wars again. And that is our attitude to Wagner. It is not our option.

“We do not want private military companies interfering in the conflict environment in the region because we know the consequences of their action.”

Meanwhile, Russia has warned that military intervention in Niger would lead to a “protracted confrontation” after regional bloc ECOWAS said it would assemble a standby force.

Such an intervention would destabilise the Sahel region as a whole, the Russian foreign ministry said.

But while Russia does not formally back the coup, the US, which backs efforts to restore deposed leader Mohamed Bazoum, says its Wagner mercenary group is taking advantage of the instability.

On Friday coup supporters, some waving Russian flags, protested at a French military base near the capital NIamey, some chanting “down with France, down with ECOWAS”.

Both France and the US operate military bases in Niger and they have been used to launch operations against jihadist groups in the wider region.

Military officials from ECOWAS countries are reportedly set to meet on Saturday to draft plans for a military intervention.

The bloc has said it remains open to finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu said on Thursday that “No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort”.

The US has not explicitly backed military action but has called on the junta to step aside and allow the restoration of the country’s democratic constitution.

The Niger junta has not responded to the latest statements from ECOWAS leaders.