8/19/2023-|Last update: 8/20/202312:06 AM (Mecca Time)
The delegation of the West African Group (ECOWAS) met the isolated President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, in Niamey, and they also met with the coup leader, General Abdel Rahman Tianyi, as part of an attempt to avoid a military intervention that the group agreed to implement if peaceful solutions failed.
The delegation – which arrived in Niamey today, Saturday – said that they met President Bazoum and listened to his views and what happened to him, but they mentioned that there are “issues of his own that we cannot disclose.”
“Our meetings in Niamey were very important and could constitute a starting point for resolving the crisis,” said former Nigerian President Abdel Salam Abubakar, who heads the ECOWAS delegation.
A senior ECOWAS official had expressed optimism that the junta would accept dialogue with the group.
An ECOWAS source was quoted by AFP as saying that Bazoum was “in good spirits” but still lacked electricity.
The junta-appointed prime minister, Ali Muhammad al-Amin al-Zein, confirmed Friday night in an interview with The New York Times that “nothing will happen” to Bazoum.
Bazoum has been held in the presidential palace since his overthrow in the July 26 coup, but ECOWAS and Western powers insist that he is still the legitimate president and call for his immediate release and return to power.
A spokesman for the presidency in Nigeria – which holds the rotating presidency of ECOWAS – confirmed that the group’s delegation met with Bazoum, as well as with the commander of the military council, General Abd al-Rahman Tiani.
Former Nigerian President Abdel Salam Abubakar visited Niamey from ECOWAS on August 3, but he did not meet General Tianyi or the ousted president.
Agence France-Presse quoted a source close to ECOWAS as saying that the delegation wanted to convey a “firm message” to the military in Niamey.
ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdelfattah Moussa announced on Friday that the mission’s goal is to “continue to follow the peaceful path to restore constitutional order” in Niger.
General Tianyi said that the military council does not seek to seize power (Al-Jazeera)
Speech to General Tianyi
In conjunction with the visit of the ECOWAS delegation, General Tianyi delivered a televised speech on Saturday evening in which he affirmed his readiness for “any dialogue that takes into account the opinion of the people and national sovereignty,” warning that the attack on his country “will not be a picnic.”
“Neither the army nor the people of Niger want war, but we will confront any war waged against us,” Tianyi said.
The coup leader confirmed that the transitional period of power would not exceed 3 years, and said, “Our ambition is not to confiscate power,” calling on all segments of the people for dialogue to determine the form of the country’s constitutional system.
Tiani denounced the sanctions imposed on Niger and said that their aim was to “subjugate us and not reach a solution,” adding that ECOWAS seems ignorant that Niger is “the key that prevented terrorists from destabilizing the region.”
Supporters of the military council gathered in Niamey and announced their willingness to volunteer in the ranks of the armed forces (Anatolia)
popular moves
Today, the Nigerien capital, Niamey, witnessed popular movements in support of the coup leaders and in rejection of possible military intervention.
Thousands of volunteers gathered near the Seni-Konchi stadium in the center of Niamey, in response to an invitation launched by several organizations supporting the military council.
These organizations called on citizens to register their names as civilian supporters of the army, who can later be recruited to support the armed forces.
The ECOWAS group says that it still gives priority to diplomatic means, despite announcing on Friday evening that the leaders of its armies had agreed on a plan for a possible military intervention in Niger and its date, which has not been announced.
Nine out of 15 countries in ECOWAS participated in the meetings of the leaders of the armies in the Ghanaian capital, as some parties announced that they reject military intervention in Niger, led by Mali and Burkina Faso.
In this context, the official Nigerien TV spoke early today, Saturday, of a meeting of military leaders from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in Niamey to discuss “taking concrete measures” if the ECOWAS group chooses to “escalate the war.”
Aircraft Mali and Burkina Faso
State television broadcast pictures of warplanes, which it said were aircraft from Mali and Burkina Faso that were deployed in Niger, in implementation of the two countries’ pledges to stand by Niamey, in response to any possible military intervention by ECOWAS.
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso are subject to military rule after the coups that took place in each of them, and therefore the membership of the latter two in the ECOWAS group was frozen.
Burkina Faso has threatened to withdraw from ECOWAS if the group intervenes militarily in Niger.
Defense Minister Kasoum Coulibaly was quoted as saying, “We expect aggression against Niger, and in any case our president (Ibrahim Traore) said we are ready to repel aggression and support Niger.”
“Burkina Faso is even ready to withdraw from ECOWAS because it considers its policy towards Niger to be illogical,” he added.
On the other hand, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed its regret that “the resort to violence has prevailed over the political solution, while the military intervention in Niger is taking shape.”
“We are convinced that a negotiated political solution in Niger is still possible, and all options have not been exhausted,” the ministry said on Saturday evening.
The arrival of the American ambassador
On the other hand, the US State Department announced today the arrival of its new ambassador to Niger, Kathleen Fitzgibbon, to Niamey, and said that it would not present its official credentials due to the “current political crisis.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that Fitzgibbon’s arrival in Niger “does not reflect a change in our political stance, but rather comes in response to the need for senior leadership for our mission at a difficult time.”
“The diplomatic focus (of the new ambassador) will be on calling for a diplomatic solution that preserves the constitutional order in Niger and the immediate release of President Bazoum, his family and all those illegally detained,” the statement added.
Washington announced on Thursday that it supports ECOWAS’ efforts to restore constitutional order in Niger, including military intervention as a last resort. France announced that it is coordinating closely with the United States on developments in Niger.
The United States has about 1,100 soldiers in Niger participating in fighting armed groups, while France has about 1,500 soldiers.
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2023-08-19 20:03:45
