By Enyichukwu Enemanna
At least nine members of a rebel group, Patriotic Liberation Front (FPL) who claim to be seeking the release of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum on Monday surrendered their arms, an official in the junta-led country announced.
FPL was formed in August 2023, a month after the West African country’s democratically elected President was overthrown in a military coup.
Following his forceful removal from office, Bazoum along with his wife, Hadiza has remained in detention in the presidential palace in Niamey.
An AFP report quoted an official from Agadez governorate as saying that “Nine FPL fighters repented and handed over their weapons and ammunition on Monday during a ceremony in the presence of General Ibra Boulama” who is the governor of the region.
Local media reports that members of the rebel group started surrendering their arms since the beginning of the month, following discreet negotiations by “influential local personalities.”
According to Niger’s army and national television, FPL spokesman Idrissa Madaki and three other members on November 1 turned themselves in separately in two towns near the Libyan border.
Last week, FPL leader Mahmoud Sallah was “provisionally stripped” of his nationality, including seven members of the Bazoum regime who were suspected of “terrorist bomb attacks.”
Sallah had claimed responsibility for attacking the army in the north and disabling part of a crucial pipeline carrying crude oil to Benin in June. He had also threatened to attack strategic sites.
Regional body, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had condemned the illegal detention of Bazoum, his family, and members of the government, as well as the “unacceptable” conditions under which they are being held.
Along with Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger was suspended from the ECOWAS following the coups that rocked the countries since 2020.
Earlier this year, it lifted a sanction which included no-fly zone and border closures “on purely humanitarian grounds” to ease the suffering caused as a result.
