Niger is located in the middle of the Sahel region, and it is an important transit point for migrants wishing to reach Europe via Libya. Since 2016, the country has stopped more than 95,000 migrants, mainly in Assamaka, according to a Parisian newspaper.
On Thursday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will decide how to proceed after the expiration of an ultimatum it addressed to the military junta in Niger, in which it threatened to impose sanctions or even intervene if the perpetrators of the military coup did not do so. Handing over power to the deposed government.
Europe is concerned about the situation in Niger. It is about immigration
Therefore, the European Union is concerned about the fate of the migration policy, which depends on the decisions of African countries. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the military council accused France of violating the closure of Niger’s airspace. Paris denied the accusations and is calling for the return of the legitimate president, Mohamed Bazoum, to power
Thanks to the outcome of the Euro-African Summit in Malta in 2015, when the European Union was experiencing a serious migration crisis, Niger became one of the strongholds of the EU’s migration policy and began to receive significant funding to control the flow of migrants.
“What is happening in Niger is more problematic than we think. Jean-Pierre Casarino of the College of Europe believes that destabilizing the country will inevitably affect the European policy to stop illegal immigration and secure its own immigration policy, which has been implemented since 2015.
“The problem of the new wave of migrants has already become a reality,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told La Stampa newspaper on Monday. “Every day without an agreement makes things worse. If war breaks out in Niger, it will be a disaster,” added the head of Italian diplomacy.
On Sunday, July 30, ECOWAS and Chad issued a statement giving the military junta an ultimatum – if President Bazoum does not return to power, economic sanctions will be imposed on Niger. ECOWAS also threatened the new Nigerian authorities with force. The junta was given seven days to comply with the demands of the community.
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