Canada ‘strongly condemns’ Niger coup, but not threatening sanctions yet

The Trudeau government has given no indication it is thinking of cutting back on development and humanitarian dollars for Niger, which has amounted to roughly $60 million per year.

Canada is speaking out against a coup d’etat in Niger, but hasn’t joined other nations in threatening to cut aid to the West African country.

Last Wednesday, a faction of Niger’s military claimed to have overthrown the country’s democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum after detaining him in his palace.

In a tweet Friday evening, Global Affairs Canada wrote that Ottawa “strongly condemns the attempted coup” in Niger and calls for Bazoum’s release.

“We reaffirm our support for Niger’s democracy and reiterate our call for President Bazoum’s release,” the department wrote, while expressing support for the Economic Community of West African States, a group of 15 countries known as ECOWAS.

That bloc has threatened to sanction leaders of the military junta and send in troops if Bazoum isn’t restored to power within a week.

Britain and the European Union have pulled aid from the country, while Washington has mulled following suit. The Trudeau government has given no indication it is thinking of cutting back on development and humanitarian dollars for Niger, which has amounted to roughly $60 million per year.

The tumult in Niger is the latest in a series of attempted coups across the Sahel region, where the so-called Islamic State group has been recruiting militants and committing massacres. The political instability comes as the Russian mercenary group Wagner meddles in countries across the region.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last met with Bazoum in November at a summit in Tunisia, where he praised his “leadership in progressive values” such as women’s inclusion and democracy in a region of rising authoritarianism.