The ECOWAS delegation meets the isolated president of Niger.. and the commander of the military council warns against any interference
A source in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) stated that the group’s delegation, which arrived, on Saturday afternoon, in Niamey in an attempt to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Niger, met President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been detained since the July 26 coup, while the military council warned of Any attack on Niger will not be a “picnic”.
The source told “Agence France Presse” that Bazoum’s “spirit is high.” A journalist at the Nigerien News Agency confirmed that the meeting took place at the presidential palace.
The ECOWAS delegation arrived in the capital, Niamey, to join the efforts of the United Nations Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Santos Simao, who came on Friday, in an attempt to facilitate the process of reaching a solution to the ongoing crisis.
However, in parallel with these diplomatic initiatives, ECOWAS confirmed, on Friday evening, its readiness to send military forces to Niger to restore constitutional order to this country.
ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdelfattah Moussa, announced that the decision had been taken on the exact day of military intervention in Niger, but added, “We will not announce it.”
“We are ready to intervene as soon as the order is issued. The day of intervention has also been determined,” Moussa said, after a two-day meeting of the chiefs of staff of the ECOWAS armies in Accra, adding that during the meeting, “strategic objectives, necessary equipment, and the commitment of Member States” with regard to a possible military operation.
For his part, the head of the ruling military council in Niger, General Abd al-Rahman Tiani, said that the transitional period of power would not exceed three years, warning that any attack targeting his country would not be easy for the participants in it.
“Our ambition is not to confiscate power,” he said in a televised address, adding that an attack on Niger would not be a “walk in the park.”
He stressed that the country does not want war and remains open to dialogue, but it will defend itself if ECOWAS tries to restore democracy by force.
On August 10, the ECOWAS heads of state ordered the activation of a “reserve force” to be sent to Niger, and at the meeting of the chiefs of staff in Accra on Friday, the outlines of this force were drawn.
However, the military in Niamey met this threat with the same, as the new regime emanating from the coup continues to assert that any armed intervention on the part of “ECOWAS” would be “illegal and absurd aggression.”
Agence France-Presse correspondents in the Nigerien capital reported that thousands of volunteers gathered, on Saturday morning, near the Sene Konche stadium in the center of Niamey, in response to an invitation launched by several organizations supporting the putschists.
These organizations called on citizens to register their names as civilian supporters of the army, who could later be recruited to support the armed forces.
Algeria: a political solution is still possible
Meanwhile, Algeria expressed its deep dissatisfaction with the decision to resort to the military option to resolve the crisis in Niger.
A statement by the Algerian Foreign Ministry said today, Saturday: “At a time when the features of military intervention in Niger are increasing, Algeria deeply regrets giving priority to resorting to violence rather than the path of a political and negotiated solution in Niger.”
The statement added that Algeria has “a strong conviction that this negotiated political solution is still possible, that the paths that could lead to it have not yet been taken, and that all its opportunities have not yet been exhausted.”
The Algerian Foreign Ministry warned that adopting the military option did not solve any crisis, and explained that “the history of the region definitively testifies that military interventions have brought more problems than solutions.”
Algeria renewed its call on all parties to “commit to the values of restraint, wisdom and prudence, which all require giving the highest priority to a negotiated political solution to the existing constitutional crisis, thus sparing brotherly Niger and the entire region a future fraught with threats.”
She called for favoring a political solution “before irreparable things are committed and before the region enters a spiral of violence, the dire consequences of which cannot be predicted.”
Burkina Faso threatens to withdraw from ECOWAS
On the other hand, Burkina Faso has threatened to withdraw from ECOWAS in the event that the latter intervenes militarily in Niger, according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, on Saturday, quoting Burkina Faso’s Defense Minister Kasoum Coulibaly.
Coulibaly said: “We expect aggression against Niger, and in any case our president (Ibrahim Traore) said we are ready to repel aggression and support Niger.”
He said, “Burkina Faso is even ready to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States because it considers ECOWAS’ policy towards Niger to be illogical.”
Coulibaly reaffirmed “Burkina Faso’s strong support for Niger in the face of potential aggression”.
He warned of “increased activity of terrorist groups in the region if Niger falls into chaos,” stressing that “ECOWAS countries do not have the right to fight each other,” according to the Russian agency.
Coulibaly criticized the sanctions imposed by “ECOWAS” on Niger after the military coup, and described the possibility of military intervention in the country as “shocking.”
Burkina Faso and Mali sided with Niger’s army, which overthrew President Bazoum.
More than three weeks after the coup, the conditions of the ousted president’s arrest are of concern to the international community, and according to Nigerian President Paula Tinubu, Bazoum’s health is “deteriorating.”
Niger enjoys strategic importance for world powers, due to its reserves of uranium and oil, and its role as a center for foreign forces involved in fighting rebel movements and armed groups linked to “Al-Qaeda” and “ISIS”.
(AFP, Anatolia, Reuters, The New Arab)
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2023-08-19 21:19:08
