21OCT2023
Niger junta says ousted President Mohamed Bazoum tried to escape The former president attempted to flee in the night with his family, cooks and security, a military spokesman said. There were plans for the group to fly out on helicopters but the plan was foiled.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67166122
24OCT WION video report:
Niger's ousted president Mohamed Bazoum is being held in a secret location by the junta that seized power in the West African state. This is after Bazoum’s attempt to escape, failed. At the same time, withdrawal of French troops from the nation is half-complete.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k906zoXMRMA
24OCT 2023
As Niger's Foreign Minister is in Tehran, the European Union has introduced sanctions targeting individuals and entities linked to the military junta that seized power in July.
Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, “The EU has from the very beginning condemned the coup d’état in Niger in the strongest terms.” The newly established framework empowers the EU to impose sanctions on those responsible for actions that it deems ‘jeopardize Niger's peace, stability, and security, undermine its constitutional order, or involve severe violations of human rights and international humanitarian law’. In doing so, the EU seeks to align and reinforce the actions taken by the West African regional organization ECOWAS.
Bakary Yaou Sangare, the Foreign Minister of Niger's military government, was also in Tehran. On Monday, he met with Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's Foreign Minister. State news agency IRNA described the ousted Nigerien president, Mohamed Bazoum, as being aligned with the West and noted that he was removed from office by the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland.
The junta in Niger opposes the presence of French forces in Africa and aligns itself with Russia. In September, Russian military officials made a visit to Africa, signaling Russia's efforts to bolster its role on the continent.
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202310249083
Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has blockaded multiple towns and villages in both Mali and Burkina Faso, and to a lesser degree in Niger, including large-scale embargoes on vital agricultural locations such as the Niono area in Mali and the Sourou valley in Burkina Faso.
https://twitter.com/ACLEDINFO/status/1717844130095640602
This report analyzes the operations and organizational structure of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) in the Sahel region of Africa, focusing on the group's engagement with illicit economies and tactical use of economic warfare. Specifically, the report emphasizes the central role of illicit economies in JNIM’s governance strategies, and in financing and resourcing the group's armed struggle. It also tracks how JNIM has evolved organizationally, with these internal changes dictating shifts in its involvement in regional illicit economies. These political and organizational changes, and the group's highly strategic engagement with illicit economies, have underpinned JNIM’s expansion into new geographies, its retention of influence in areas of control, and its resilience to disruption.
https://acleddata.com/acleddatanew/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/JNIM-Non-state-armed-groups-and-illicit-economiesin-wWest-Africa-GI-TOC-ACLED-October-2023.pdf