In an effort to find diplomatic channels to respond to the crisis caused by the military coup on July 26, an ECOWAS delegation traveled to Niamey on Saturday, August 19, for talks with the self-proclaimed junta. Right now, Niger is the fourth country in West Africa to be led by a military junta.
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Officials from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are trying to find peaceful alternatives to reverse the military coup, which ousted Niger’s president, Mohamed Bazoum, now kidnapped.
They were received at the Niamey airport at 1:00 p.m. (12:00 GMT) by the prime minister appointed by the military junta. His idea is to talk to the self-proclaimed authorities, a source confirmed to Reuters.
“Yes, a delegation from ECOWAS, headed by General AbdulSalami Abubakar (former president of Nigeria from 1998 to 1999), has once again traveled to Niamey to talk with the coup plotters,” said the Nigerian source, whose country holds the bloc’s rotating presidency. , based in Abuja, the capital.
ECOWAS has always said that military intervention is the last resort to restore constitutional order in Niger. It is expected that the board will finally give dialogue a chance, the source added to EFE by telephone on condition of anonymity.
Abubakar was the same president who, at the beginning of the month, led another ECOWAS delegation, which was unsuccessful in its attempt to mediate with the coup plotters.
Cedeao reiterates its willingness to dialogue, but does not rule out military intervention
Military intervention is still on the table
The visit took place after the ECOWAS military chiefs stressed yesterday that, if “peaceful options fail”, they will opt for a “surgical” military intervention against the coup junta, after a two-day meeting in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
The chiefs of staff of Nigeria, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo, Benin, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Gambia participated in the Accra meeting.
All the countries represented in those talks have confirmed their participation in a possible military intervention and have even decided the day on which they will deploy their regional force, but they have not revealed the date, the commissioner clarified.
The leaders of Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau could not attend. Nor was Niger represented, nor was Burkina Faso, Mali or Guinea-Conakry, countries where there were coups between 2020 and 2022, which have expressed their rejection of the use of force.
The thought of military action has divided the region. Nigeria, Benin, the Ivory Coast and Senegal confirmed the availability of their armies to intervene in Nigerian territory.
Against it are Mali and Burkina Faso, governed by military juntas. They have argued that any intervention in Niger would amount to a declaration of war against them as well.
Chad, Guinea-Conakry, Algeria and Cape Verde have rejected military action and are calling for dialogue, a position they seem to share with the African Union (AU), a pan-African organization that has not expressed itself publicly.
The response of the military coup junta has been to evade the threats. He appointed a new prime minister, formed a transitional government, and strengthened his military force. Faced with the use of force, his response will be “instantaneous” and “energetic”, he has said.
The coup in Niger occurred on July 26 and was led by the self-styled National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP), which announced the removal of President Mohamed Bazoum and the suspension of the Constitution.
With EFE, Reuters and AFP
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