The New York TImes:

The coup was announced hours after President Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose family has controlled the country for a half-century, was declared to have been re-elected for a third term in a disputed election.

A close ally of France, Mr. Bongo won international acclaim in recent years from scientists and conservationists for his stewardship of Gabon’s sweeping forests, which cover nearly 90 percent of the country. A member of OPEC, Gabon is Africa’s seventh largest oil producer.

But Mr. Bongo, 64, also presided over a regime accused of cronyism and corruption in a country where only a minority has shared in its great wealth. Public anger has been simmering for years.

Go home, France. Nobody likes you.

See also:
–Niger: Crowds Rally In Niamey Demanding French Troops Leave
–Coups In Francophone Africa In Past Three Years – A Timeline

Al Jazeera:

France’s ambassador to Niger will stay in the Sahel country despite pressure to leave from leaders of a recent coup, President Emmanuel Macron has said.

On Monday, he also reiterated France’s support to Niger’s overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum, whose decision not to resign Macron called courageous. Macron also said Paris would support any military action by The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Niger.

The French leader, who was speaking during a major foreign policy speech to ambassadors gathered in Paris, confirmed that French envoy Sylvain Itte was listening in from Niger’s capital Niamey despite being given a 48-hour deadline to leave the country last Friday.

France wants war.

Reuters:

The junta in Niger has ordered its armed forces to go on highest alert, citing an increased threat of attack, according to an internal document issued by its defence chief on Friday that a security source in the country confirmed was authentic.

The document, which was shared widely online on Saturday, said the order to be on maximum alert would allow forces to respond adequately in case of any attack and “avoid a general surprise”.

“Threats of aggression to the national territory are increasingly being felt,” it said.

The main West African bloc ECOWAS has been trying to negotiate with the leaders of the July 26 coup, but has said it is ready to deploy troops to restore constitutional order if diplomatic efforts fail.

Niger is not going back down without a fight.

See also:
–Niger Coup Leaders Give French Ambassador 48 Hours To Leave Country
–Tens Of Thousands Of Niger Coup Supporters Rally After French Ambassador Ordered To Leave
–Protesters Threaten To Storm French Military Base, Embassy In Niger

AP News:

The door for diplomacy with Niger’s junta remained open but the bloc is not going to engage in drawn-out talks that lead nowhere, Abdel-Fatau Musah, the ECOWAS commissioner for peace and security, told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday.

“It is the belief among the ECOWAS heads of state and also the commission that the coup in Niger is one coup too many for the region and if we allow it then we are going to have a domino effect in the region and we are determined to stop it,” Musah said. While direct talks and backchannel negotiations are ongoing, he said the door to diplomacy wasn’t open indefinitely.

A war between US/France/ECOWAS and Russia/Niger-Mali-Burkina Faso would be one war too many for the region.

See also:
–Russia’s Lavrov To BRICS: Military Intervention In Niger Will Benefit No One
–Food And Aid Pile Up At Niger’s Border As Sanctions Bite

Reuters:

West Africa’s main regional bloc, ECOWAS, has rejected a proposal by Niger’s military junta to hold elections within three years, extending a political impasse that could trigger a military intervention if no agreement is reached following a July coup.

But will ECOWAS attack?

See also:
–The African Union Suspends Niger Until ‘The Effective Restoration Of Constitutional Order’
–Algeria Refuses French Request To Fly Over Its Airspace For Military Operation In Niger
–France Denies Report It Asked Algeria To Use Airspace For A Niger Operation

AP News:

Mutinous soldiers in Niger are under pressure from regional sanctions as they refuse to reinstate the country’s president whom they toppled nearly a month ago while being fearful of attacks from France, an official said.

The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity after Saturday’s meeting between Niger’s new military regime and a delegation from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS.

The government of Niger has proposed a three-year transition to democratic rule, but this situation is likely to go off the rails much sooner.

See also:
–ECOWAS Sets ‘D-Day’ For Possible Military Intervention In Niger
–ECOWAS Says Troops Ready For Niger Intervention
–Thousands Of Niger Junta Supporters Overwhelm Call For Civilian Volunteers
–Pro-Coup Rally Draws Thousands In Niger After Military Leader Warns Against Foreign Intervention
–Mali, Burkina Faso Send Warplanes To Niger In Response To Potential Military Intervention

The St. Joseph News-Press:

West African defence chiefs met Thursday to discuss the crisis in Niger after coup leaders there ignored their deadline to step down, leaving the region’s countries with few options in their effort to restore democratic rule.

It doesn’t seem like there’s any crisis in Niger. It seems like the crisis is in Paris and Washington, DC. Whether or not the Neocolonialists, Neoconservatives, and Globalists can convince ECOWAS to militarily blunder its way into the picture remains to be seen.

CNN:

The Pentagon is evaluating what authorities it can use to continue to operate in a primarily intelligence gathering role in Niger if the military takeover there is deemed a coup d’etat by the State Department – a legal determination that would strip the US military of some of its authorities and funding to engage in security cooperation with Nigerien forces.

Our so-called “anti-terror operations” are complete bullcrap, and the coup in Niger was a coup. The US government should acknowledge the reality of it and immediately withdraw all assets from the country. No American has any business getting embroiled in the turmoil that is likely going to wreck that country soon.

See also:
–W.Africa Military Chiefs Start Talks On Niger Coup
–Niger: Internal Divisions In ECOWAS May Block Military Intervention
–African Union Will Not Back ECOWAS Intervention In Niger
–West Africa’s Church Leaders Voice Opposition To Military Intervention In Niger
–West African Bloc Vows To Restore Niger Democracy ‘By All Means’

NPR:

The leaders of Niger’s military junta say they will prosecute the country’s deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, for treason. It’s a charge that’s punishable by death. It comes after weeks of failed diplomatic efforts, and it could further destabilize a region and a country where the U.S. has had more than 1,000 troops.

The coup in Niger, and the ongoing rule of Niger’s military dictatorship, pose no threat to the Sahel such as that posed by ongoing US/EU meddling in the region.

See also:
–US ‘Incredibly Dismayed’ By Plan To Try Detained Niger President
–W.Africa Bloc Lashes Threat To Prosecute Ousted Niger President
–Blindsided: Hours Before The Coup In Niger, U.S. Diplomats Said The Country Was Stable

AP News:

One week after a deadline passed for mutinous soldiers in Niger to reinstate the country’s ousted president or face military intervention, the junta has not acquiesced. No military action has been taken and the coup leaders appear to have gained the upper hand over the regional group that issued the threat, analysts say.

The West African bloc ECOWAS had given the soldiers that overthrew Niger’s democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum until last Sunday to release and reinstate him or they threatened military action. On Thursday, the bloc ordered the deployment of a “standby” force to restore constitutional rule in Niger, with Nigeria, Benin, Senegal and Ivory Coast saying they would contribute troops.

But it’s unclear when, how or if the troops will deploy. The move could take weeks or months to set into motion, and while the bloc decides what to do the junta is gaining power, some observers say.

Hopefully the threats of war subside and the military dictatorship of Niger respects the peoples’ rights. Whether or not the US and French governments will withdraw their troops in respect of Niger’s sovereignty without spitefully inciting a bloodbath remains to be seen.

See also: Niger’s Coup Leaders Say They Will Prosecute Deposed President Mohamed Bazoum For ‘High Treason’

The Intercept:

“The U.S. is using security assistance and military training too broadly in sub-Saharan Africa. Doing so means you’re putting the United States in a position where it’s implicated in human rights abuses and the malign behavior of local security partners,” said Elias Yousif, a research analyst with the Stimson Center’s Conventional Defense Program. “Our experience in the Sahel should be especially cautionary. Over many years, we’ve seen a remarkable series of coups as well as deteriorating security with a rise in militancy, Islamist insurgencies, and criminal networks. I would be hard-pressed to point to a success that could justify continuing on the same path.”

Sounds about right.

See also:
–West African Countries Call To Activate Force ‘To Restore Constitutional Order’ In Niger
–Niger Junta Declares New Government With ECOWAS On Standby
–Western Officials: Niger Junta Warned They’d Kill Deposed President After Any Military Intervention

NPR:

A spokesman for the coup leaders, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, warned of “the threat of intervention being prepared in a neighbouring country,” and said Niger’s airspace will be closed until further notice. The junta asserted that two central African countries are preparing for an invasion, but did not say which ones, and called on the country’s population to defend it.

CNN:

The leaders of a coup in Niger are digging in their heels as they face a looming deadline from neighbors to give up power or face possible military action.

Regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has given the Nigerien military a Sunday deadline to release and reinstate the country’s ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum.

One of the group’s officials said a plan for an intervention had been “worked out,” but that it remained a last resort.