Across the African continent, in Niger, another crisis continues unabated. Since a military coup in late July ousted the democratically elected president, the soldiers have dug in and consolidated their power. The Economic Community of West African States, a political and economic bloc; the United States; and the European Union have imposed stringent sanctions on the poverty-stricken, aid-dependent country. The generals remain undeterred, but ordinary citizens are running out of food and medicine, and electricity is in short supply.
Also, since Niger’s military junta demanded the removal of French troops helping with counterterrorism operations — and the United States suspended its military cooperation with this African ally — militants linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have escalated their attacks. Incidents targeting civilians quadrupled in the month after the coup, and dozens of Nigerien soldiers have been killed. Militants killed about 30 Nigerien troops in a single attack early last month.
It was heartening to see the Biden administration inform Congress on Monday that it was expelling Niger, along with Gabon, Uganda and the Central African Republic, from a preferential trade program called the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Niger and Gabon were kicked out because their entrenched military rulers have taken zero moves to restore pluralism and civilian rule. Uganda and the Central African Republic were evicted from the program because of “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.” Uganda earlier this year passed one of the world’s harshest, and most horrendous, anti-LGBTQ+ laws, which includes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts.
Also heartening is seeing the United States and Saudi Arabia hosting a new round of long-suspended peace talks to reach a cease-fire in Sudan. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Saudi counterpart finalized the details of the current talks on Oct. 14 in Riyadh on a trip dominated by the Hamas attacks in Israel and the war in Gaza. It’s good to see Sudan not get crowded off the diplomatic agenda.
The goal of the Sudan peace talks is, by necessity, modest: a temporary truce. Previous agreements to halt the slaughter have not lasted more than a few days. The two power-hungry warring generals behind the carnage — Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who commands the Sudanese armed forces, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known at “Hemedti,” who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces — agreed to send representatives to Jeddah, which is a positive sign. But the challenges ahead are as profound as the imperative to try.
Sudan’s civil war, which erupted in April, has now claimed more than 9,000 civilian lives. More than 5.6 million people have been displaced. The capital, Khartoum, is being reduced to rubble by artillery shelling and airstrikes. The 18-story Greater Nile Petroleum Oil Co. tower and landmark high-rise buildings housing government ministries have been targeted and set ablaze, with each side blaming the other.
Civilians have been fleeing the city. Hospitals have been running low on supplies. Doctors Without Borders was forced to withdraw from a teaching hospital in the southern part of the city, halting vitally needed surgeries, after the military blocked supplies.
The situation outside the capital might be even worse. The Rapid Support Forces reportedly have just taken control of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur and a key transport link to the Central African Republic. Reports from Nyala say the city’s hospitals have been destroyed in the fighting, bodies were lying uncollected in the streets and the victorious RSF were looting houses. At least 670,000 residents have fled the fighting in South Darfur.
The RSF has already been linked to atrocities including ethnic cleansing, which some have characterized as an unfolding genocide, in Darfur.
With so many other global crises demanding the Biden administration’s and the world’s attention, it might be tempting to write off Sudan and Niger as hopeless cases, defying easy resolution. That would be a mistake. Even a small change, the product of consistent sustained attention and diplomacy, could save lives.
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