Niger coup leader General Abdourahmane Tchiani. Photo/Al Jazeera
NIAMEY – Coup leader Niger has proposed a three-year transition to a civilian government after meeting a delegation of West African leaders. They also warned that any attack on the country would not be easy for those involved.
Speaking on national television late on Saturday, General Abdourahmane Tchiani did not go into details about the plan for the transfer of power, saying only that the principles of the move would be decided within 30 days at a dialogue to be convened by the ruling military council.
“Neither the National Council for the Protection of the Homeland nor the people of Niger want war, and remain open to dialogue,” he said after his first meeting with delegates from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Niger’s capital, Niamey.
“But let’s be clear: If an attack is made against us, it will not be as easy as some people seem to think,” he said. Al JazeeraSunday (20/8/2023).
ECOWAS has imposed tough sanctions on Niger after the July 26 coup and has ordered the deployment of “standby troops” to restore constitutional order in the country.
The bloc said Friday that an undisclosed “D-Day” had been approved for possible military intervention and 11 of its 15 member states had agreed to deploy troops in the operation.
In his 12-minute speech, Tchiani claimed ECOWAS was preparing to attack Niger by forming an occupying army in cooperation with foreign troops and condemned what he called the illegal and inhumane sanctions imposed by the regional bloc.
2023-08-20 04:38:54
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