Nigeriens are calling for recruitment of volunteers into the force, as the country continue to prepare for a possible invasion by countries in the region, three weeks after mutinous soldiers ousted the nation’s democratically elected president, Associated Press (AP) reports.
Nigeriens in the capital, Niamey, are calling for the mass recruitment of volunteers to assist the army in the face of a growing threat by the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, which says it will use military force if the junta doesn’t reinstate the deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.
ECOWAS has activated a “standby force” to restore order in Niger after the junta ignored a deadline to reinstate and release Bazoum.
The initiative, spearhead by a group of locals in Niamey, aims to recruit tens of thousands of volunteers from across the country to register for the Volunteers for the Defense of Niger, to fight, assist with medical care, and provide technical and engineering logistics among other functions, in case the junta needs help, Amsarou Bako, one of the founders, told The Associated Press Tuesday.
“It’s an eventuality. We need to be ready whenever it happens,” he said.
The recruitment drive will launch Saturday in Niamey as well as in cities where invasion forces might enter, such as near the borders with Nigeria and Benin, two countries, which have said they would participate in an intervention. Anyone over 18 can register and the list will be given to the junta to call upon people if needed, said Bako. The junta is not involved, but is aware of the initiative, he said.
“The U.S is in a difficult situation with no good choices,” said Michael Shurkin, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and director of global programs at 14 North Strategies. “It either sticks to a principled position and pushes for democracy while alienating the junta and risk pushing it into Russia’s arms, or we give up on principle and work with the junta in the hope of salvaging a productive working relationship,” he said.
While regional and western countries scramble for how to respond, many Nigeriens are convinced they’ll soon be invaded.
The details of Niger’s volunteer force are still vague, but similar initiatives in neighboring countries have yielded mixed results. Volunteer fighters in Burkina Faso, recruited to help the army battle its jihadi insurgency, have been accused by rights groups and locals of committing atrocities against civilians.
Bako, one of the heads of the group organizing Nigerien volunteers, said Niger’s situation is different.
“The (volunteers in Burkina Faso) are fighting the Burkinabe who took weapons against their own brothers. The difference with us is our people will fight against an intrusion,” he said.