The leaders of the Niger Army, who carried out the coup d’état against President Mohamed Bazoum on July 25, accepted the mediation of the Algerian Government, as well as “a six-month transition plan” of power, as announced by the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs this Monday, October 2.
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Niger, a West African nation, has been governed for more than two months by a military regime that took power by force after arresting and removing the elected leader, Mohamed Bazoum.
Now, the military junta that administers the country would be open to a solution to “peacefully overcome” the crisis.
““The Algerian government received through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Niger a (declaration of) acceptance of Algerian mediation aimed at promoting a political solution to the crisis in Niger,” said the ministry of the neighboring country in a statement.
The response came after Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune tasked Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf “to visit Niamey as soon as possible with the aim of starting talks with all interested parties,” the notification added.
File-Nigerian national guards outside the customs offices in Niamey, Niger, on August 21, 2023.
Algiers had proposed at the end of August a transition period of up to six months, the objective of which would be “to formulate political agreements with the acceptance of all parties in Niger, without excluding any,” Attaf said at the time.
This Monday, in its statement, the Tebboune Government stated that “the acceptance of the Algerian initiative reinforces the prospects for a political solution to this crisis.”
Mediation will “pave the way” towards a “peaceful” resolution of the crisis, Algiers added, stating that such an outcome is in the interest “of the entire region.”
On August 6, Tebboune said that he “categorically” rejected any foreign military intervention in Niger, a country that borders Algeria to the south.
This is an option that has been on the table by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), mainly in the first weeks after the coup d’état, to resume democratic order. However, later the leaders of the organization clarified that, although they did not rule out the military route, they would prioritize a diplomatic solution.
With AFP
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