A queue of around 600 vehicles in Malanville, Benin, loaded with goods, struggle to reach Niger, their destination. Benin having closed its border with its neighbor, in application of the sanctions decided by ECOWAS against the soldiers who took power in Niamey.
Crossing the border and delivering the goods is all these carriers want. A still distant prospect. The dialogue is almost broken between the Nigerien junta and ECOWAS.
“We left our families to be able to go get food, we don’t know what’s going on. We’re stuck there. We’re going until about 16 days today, calling for the resolution of this crisis. We just want to do our job, deliver the goods and find our families quietly.”, explains Issiaka Bassé, a driver stranded at the Niger-Benin border.
For how long will these vehicles still be stuck at the border? It’s hard to say when the idea of military intervention in Niamey is gaining ground.
The timetable and terms of a possible West African military intervention in Niger have not been disclosed. According to Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, whose country will contribute to this “standby force”, it should be able to intervene “as soon as possible”.
At the same time, more than two weeks after the coup that overthrew him on July 26th, fears are growing over the fate of President Mohamed Bazoum, held prisoner with his wife and son in “inhumane” conditions according to the UN.
The head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken said he was “dismayed” Friday by the refusal of the soldiers to release, as a “sign of goodwill”, the family of Mr. Bazoum.