AU, UN, ECOWAS delegation head to Niger for talks

A delegation consisting of the representatives of the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the United Nations will on Tuesday travel to Niger to meet with coup leaders.

French broadcaster RFI reported that the delegation is set to arrive in the Nigerien capital city of Niamey “in the coming hours” to hold talks with the rebels on behalf of the international community.

The move was to restore the country’s disbanded institutions, the broadcaster reported.

According to the broadcaster, the Nigerian government had also boasted that Nigeria could provide more than half of the 25,000 troops for the invasion of Niger if necessary, citing a Nigerian official.

It added that military from Senegal, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire could also participate in the operation.

On 26 July 2023, a coup d’état occurred in Niger when the country’s presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum and presidential guard commander General Abdourahamane Tchiani proclaimed himself the leader of a new military junta.

The presidential guard thereby closed the country’s borders, suspended state institutions, and declared a curfew.

This was the fifth military coup d’état since the country gained independence from France in 1960 and the first since 2010.
On 6 August, 57,000 soldiers were counted among the putschists and 245,000 on the ECOWAS side, with France refusing to intervene.