Sanctions against Niger: barriers lifted on the Beninese side for goods traffic

2024-02-25T17:52:51.790Z

Highlights: Sanctions against Niger: barriers lifted on the Beninese side for goods traffic. Benin has lifted its barriers to let goods pass, Niger has not. Since last August, when hundreds of trucks were blocked due to sanctions, travelers and traders have been using the river route to bypass the closure of land borders. A delicate crossing for boats, one even capsized last summer. The border post between Niger and Benin near the town of Malanville, closed for seven months, should open completely.

ECOWAS announced on Saturday February 24 in Abuja the lifting of economic sanctions against Niger and, among other things, the reopening of land borders and airspace. The border post between…

Sanctions against Niger: barriers lifted on the Beninese side for goods traffic

ECOWAS announced on Saturday February 24 in Abuja the lifting of economic sanctions against Niger and, among other things, the reopening of land borders and airspace.

The border post between Benin and Niger near the town of Malanville, a little less than 750 km north of Cotonou, closed for seven months, should open completely.

This is not yet the case, traffic has not resumed.

Benin has lifted its barriers to let goods pass, Niger has not.

Drivers next to their vehicles at the closed border post between Benin and Niger, in the town of Malanville, September 18, 2023 (Illustrative image).

By: RFI Follow

With our correspondent in Cotonou,

Jean-Luc Aplogan

It's the

status quo

here at the border, reports a local resident contacted by RFI.

This interlocutor means that nothing has changed since the announcement of the lifting of economic sanctions.

And yet, according to our information, the authorities have asked Beninese customs officials stationed at the border to return to work;

in short, the treatment of goods entering and leaving Benin.

There is technical unemployment for the moment since this instruction, since the bridge which allows goods trucks to enter or leave Niger is closed and blocked by the Nigerien defense and security forces.

There is no movement of freight trucks at the moment, the transporters know that the track does not yet pass.

Since last August, when hundreds of trucks were blocked due to sanctions, travelers and traders have been using the river route to bypass the closure of land borders.

A delicate crossing for boats, one even capsized last summer.

Read also Lifting of most sanctions against Niger by ECOWAS: “the social cost was very high”

Sanctions against Niger: barriers lifted on the Beninese side for goods traffic

Sanctions against Niger: barriers lifted on the Beninese side for goods traffic

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