West African Leaders Meet Over Niger Coup, Junta Warns Towards Intervention

NIAMEY/ABUJA (Reuters) – Niger’s army leaders warned towards any armed intervention within the nation as West African leaders are set to assemble in Nigeria’s capital on Sunday for an emergency summit to determine on additional actions to strain the military to revive constitutional order.

Heads of state of the 15-member Financial Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS), and the eight-member West African Financial and Financial Union might droop Niger from its establishments, lower off the nation from the regional central financial institution and monetary market, and shut borders.

Niger’s japanese neighbour Chad, a non-member of each regional organisations, has been invited to the ECOWAS summit, a press release from the Chadian president’s workplace stated on Saturday.

Niger is without doubt one of the poorest nations on the planet, receiving near $2 billion a 12 months in official growth help, in keeping with the World Financial institution. It is usually a safety associate of former colonial energy France and the USA, which each use it as a base to battle an Islamist insurgency in West and Central Africa’s wider Sahel area.

The West African leaders might additionally for the primary time, think about a army intervention to revive President Mohamed Bazoum who was ousted when Normal Abdourahamane Tiani was declared the brand new head of state on Friday.

Forward of the Sunday summit, the army leaders in Niger on Saturday evening, warned in a press release learn on Niger nationwide tv on Saturday evening towards any army intervention.

“The target of the (ECOWAS) assembly is to approve a plan of aggression towards Niger by way of an imminent army intervention in Niamey in collaboration with different African nations which can be non-members of ECOWAS, and sure western nations,” junta spokesman Colonel Amadou Abdramane stated.

“We need to as soon as extra remind ECOWAS or some other adventurer, of our agency dedication to defend our homeland,” he stated.

The junta issued a second assertion on Saturday evening inviting residents within the capital take to the streets from 7 a.m. native time (0600 GMT) to protest towards ECOWAS and present assist for the brand new army leaders.

The army coup in Niger has been extensively condemned by its neighbours and worldwide companions who’ve refused to recognise the brand new leaders and have demanded that Bazoum be restored to energy.

Bazoum has not been heard from since early Thursday when he was confined throughout the presidential palace, though the European Union, France and others say they nonetheless acknowledge him because the respectable president.

The European Union and France have lower off monetary assist to Niger and the USA has threatened to do the identical.

After an emergency assembly on Friday, the African Union issued a press release demanding that the army return to their barracks and restore constitutional order inside 15 days. It didn’t say what would occur after that.

(Reporting by Boureima Balima and Moussa Aksar; Writing by Bate Felix; Enhancing by Sandra Maler)

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