While unlikely, “the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic,” said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank. If the regional bloc uses force, it could trigger violence not only between Niger and ECOWAS forces but also between civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say. The intervention was largely seen as accomplishing its mission. Around 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered the country, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues. In 2017, ECOWAS intervened in Gambia to prevent the new president’s predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war, one of the bloodiest conflicts in Africa and one that left many wary of intervening in internal conflicts. Hassan has hardly been aware that the country’s president was overthrown. His wife sweeps stalls at the central market, making less than half what Hassan does. His wheelbarrow is broken and he doesn’t have the nearly $70 he needs to fix it. Hassan, 30, sells water door to door, earning about $6 a day when things go well. “The most difficult part is finding food for my children,“ Hassan, whose sons are 5 and 6 years old, said Monday. The family sleeps on wooden slats close to the floor, with no electricity or running water, and they bathe in public showers. Salou Hassan and his family live in a two-room hut on the side of the road, along with some 140 people. They scramble daily to make enough money to feed their children. In the capital of Niger, many people live in makeshift shelters tied together with slats of wood, sheets and plastic tarps because they can’t pay rent. NIAMEY, Niger (AP) - Neighboring nations are levying economic sanctions over a coup last week that toppled one of the West’s last democratic partners against West African extremists, and families in one of the world’s poorest nations could pay the price.
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