An American emissary had “difficult” discussions in Niamey with the military who carried out the coup in Niger, the United States saying that it favored diplomatic means to restore constitutional order, rather than military intervention for a time envisaged by West African countries.
The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will meet again Thursday in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to discuss the situation in Niger, two weeks after the coup, indicated ECOWAS in a press release.
At a previous summit in Abuja on July 30, West African leaders gave the Nigerian military a week to restore elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who is currently being held prisoner. The chiefs of staff of the region had even drawn the “outlines” of a possible armed intervention, but it was not triggered when the ultimatum expired on Sunday at 23:00 GMT.
According to a source close to ECOWAS, an intervention is not envisaged at this stage, and the path of dialogue therefore still seems to be on the table.
“It is certain that diplomacy is the preferable way to resolve this situation. This is the approach of ECOWAS, this is our approach and we support the efforts of ECOWAS to restore constitutional order”, declared for his US Secretary of State Antony Blinken shares with RFI.
“What we see in Niger is distressing and offers nothing to the country and the people of Niger”, he continued, believing that the United States and other countries would find themselves “in a position where we we have to stop our support for Niger”.
A senior American diplomat, Victoria Nuland, said on Monday that she had met the coup plotters in Niamey. “These discussions were extremely frank and at times quite difficult,” she told reporters by telephone.
Ms. Nuland, acting number two for US diplomacy, said she met Brigadier General Moussa Salaou Barmou, the new army chief of staff, and other officials, but was unable to meet. neither with the head of the military in power, General Abdourahamane Tiani, nor with the overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum.
She said she offered ‘numerous options’ to end the coup, as well as the ‘good offices’ of the United States ‘if there was a desire on the part of officials to return to constitutional order “, while adding: “I would not say that this offer was taken into account in any way.
The official also specified that General Barmou was well aware of the existing cooperation between Niger and the United States, due to his past involvement in the special forces.
The perpetrators of the coup “understand very well the risks to their sovereignty posed by an invitation from Wagner”, declared Ms. Nulan, referring to the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, present in particular in neighboring Mali.
For its part, “the junta has asked the ECOWAS delegation to return” by Tuesday to Niger, deposed Nigerien Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told TV5 Monde on Monday. This delegation, which arrived in Niamey on Thursday, left a few hours later without having been able to meet either General Tiani or Mr. Bazoum.
Several African voices have rejected the military option in recent days.
A military intervention could be “a disaster”, warned Monday in Bamako the head of Malian diplomacy Abdoulaye Diop.
Algeria, another neighbor of Niger and a major player in the Sahel, has also declared itself opposed to an intervention. Some Western countries, such as Germany and Italy, have also pleaded for a diplomatic solution.
A joint Mali-Burkina Faso delegation was sent to Niamey in support of the Nigerien military
“We reiterated” the “decision of the presidents (Burkinabe Assimi) Goïta and (Malian Ibrahim) Traoré to participate fully in self-defense operations alongside the Niger Defense and Security Forces”, said the Malian government spokesman. Abdoulaye Maiga.
Burkina Faso and Mali, neighbors of Niger, also governed by the military and facing violence from jihadist groups, have stressed in recent days that an armed intervention would be “a declaration of war” on their two countries.
Shortly before the end of the ultimatum set by ECOWAS, they announced that they were closing Niger’s airspace “until further notice”. “Any state involved will be considered co-belligerent,” they added.
The military announced Monday evening the appointment of a Prime Minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, former finance minister of President Mamadou Tandja, and that of Habibou Assoumane, new commander of the presidential guard.
08/08/2023 05:39:21 – Niamey (Niger) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
