Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has appealed for civilian safety in Niger, where a military intervention deposed President Mohamed Bazoum last month.
“To our Nigerien brothers, please do not harm any civilian on Niger’s territories,” Tabboune urged in a TV interview late Saturday.
“Do not touch any citizen who lives there, neither Nigerien nor foreigner,” Algeria’s president declared. “Protect all people, regardless of nationality.” Don’t let those who seek to crush you meddle in your personal issues.”
On July 26, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, a former commander of the presidential guard, spearheaded a military operation that deposed Bazoum.
Bazoum was elected president of Niger in 2021, marking the country’s first democratic transition since independence from French colonial authority in 1960.
Algeria has lobbied against military intervention in Niger.
“A military intervention could ignite the entire Sahel region,” Tabboune added. “Algeria will not use force against its neighbours.”
Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf travelled to Nigeria, Ghana, and Benin this week to explore a peaceful resolution to the Niger issue with members of the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS).
On August 10, the bloc authorised the activation of its standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger.
“Within ECOWAS, as in Algeria, we are working along the same lines, coordinating our efforts as much as possible to achieve a common objective, which is the restoration of constitutional order in Niger,” said Attaf.
According to the minister, the use of force in Algeria “has always been a source of complication and not a solution.”