Africa
Niger Junta Rejects External Military Intervention, Pledges Return To Civilian Rule In 3 Years
Leaders from West Africa have not ruled out the possibility of using force to achieve this objective.
It’s been nearly a month since the elected president of Niger was ousted by the generals, and the ongoing political crisis remains unresolved.
The leader of the coup and the head of the ruling National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), on Saturday, August 19, delivered a national address, warned neighboring countries against any potential military intervention.
On Friday, August 18, Abdel-Fatau Musah, the ECOWAS commissioner for peace and security, announced that 11 out of the 15 member states of ECOWAS had agreed to provide troops for a potential military intervention, expressing their readiness to take action.
“Neither the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland nor the people of Niger want war and remain open to dialogue. But let us be clear: if an attack were to be undertaken against us, it will not be the walk in the park some people seem to think.”
Tiani’s warning came after his first meeting with an ECOWAS delegation.
Promising the putschists’ ambition was not to confiscate power, the general announced a period of national dialogue to lay the foundations of “a new constitutional life.”
“Within this framework, the stakeholders who will be invited (to a consultation to lay the foundations of the transition, ed), will set about formulating concrete proposals within 30 days, leading to :
1: define the fundamental principles that should govern our transition.
2: define the priority of the transition, which should last no longer than a few months,” Thiani said.
During his 12-minute address, Tiania criticized what he termed “unlawful” and “cruel” sanctions imposed by ECOWAS on Niger following the military’s assumption of control.
The transition plans disclosed on Saturday night (August 19) by the general contradict ECOWAS’ insistence on the “restoration of President Bazoum to his official duties.”
Leaders from West Africa have not ruled out the possibility of using force to achieve this objective.
The 11 member states that have consented to military intervention do not encompass the three additional countries within the bloc that are presently under military rule due to coups: Guinea, Mali, and Burkina Faso. The latter two nations have cautioned that they would interpret any interference in Niger as an act of aggression.
