Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 29th July. UN Acting Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Niger Nicole Kouassi on Friday said at the news conference in New York that humanitarian operations, development support and peace programmes in Niger continue after the military coup.
Nicole Kouassi was speaking from Niamey hours after the general whose troops seized the democratically elected president, declared that he was assuming control of the country.
She echoed the Secretary-General’s condemnation of Wednesday’s coup against President Mohamed Bazoum, who reportedly remains in detention at his homeon behalf of UN agencies on the ground.
Ms. Kouassi expressed concern over the current “difficult situation” in Niger, where 4.3 million people, mainly women and children, were already dependent on aid prior to the power grab.
She said some 3.3 million are facing food insecurity, while a $534 million appeal is just over 30 per cent funded, she said.
She called for greater support.
UN and international aid groups are delivering aid non stophave not stopped after the crisis.
UN Humanitarian Air Service flights have been temporarily suspended because the air space is closed, along with the territorial borders.
She said “All the humanitarian partners and development partners remain engaged and committed to supporting the vulnerable population of Niger who are affected by a combination of climate issues, economic and security shocks in the context of very high humanitarian and development needs,”.
Jean-Noel Gentile, Country Director for the World Food Programme affirmed that “humanitarian response continues on the ground and has never stopped”.
WFP is providing both cash assistance and food assistance in Niger and will continuously assess the situation to ensure its staff and partners can safely access people in need.
“Only if security is an issue, we will temporarily possibly suspend certain operations in certain areas. But this is not currently the case,” he said.
The crisis could potentially affect the humanitarian response in the wider region, which continues to face impacts from conflict, drought, insecurity and other challenges.
Mr. Gentile said WFP recently established a logistics hub in Niamey as a transit point for hard-to-reach areas in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali, which are accessible through Niger.
The agency has been facilitating delivery of humanitarian aid to Chad, which is hosting hundreds of thousands fleeing the conflict in Sudan, “so the closure of the borders will temporarily suspend this vital cross-border logistics support.”
WFP is examining the possibility of alternative routes.
Emmanuel Gignac, Deputy Representative in Niger said UNHCR has not witnessed “any particular movements” related to the coup.
UNHCR monitors regular movements of internally displaced people in Niger, or refugee flows from Burkina Faso, Mali and northwest Nigeria.
Ms. Kouassi said the agency has no contact with the family.
She stressed that they do not have political mandates.
Ms. Kouassi answered no when asked about . Journalists asked if there were any warning signs ahead of the coup, or if the UN officials had seen personnel from the Russian private military company Wagner Group in Niger.
“No early signs were noticed,” she said.
“We woke up in the morning and we were faced with the situation. And no sign of Wagner from the UN perspective.”
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