A spokesman for the West African bloc, ECOWAS, has confirmed that this week’s meeting of military leaders will take place in Ghana to discuss the possibility of intervening in Niger.
The meeting on Thursday and Friday was originally scheduled for last weekend but was postponed. It follows ECOWAS leaders’ approval last week of the deployment of a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger, whose president was overthrown on July 26.
The bloc’s preference for a diplomatic resolution was also reiterated at their summit, which was held last Thursday in Abuja, Nigeria.
Announcing they would “prosecute” Mohamed Bazoum for “high treason” and “undermining the security” of the nation, the coup leaders in Niger who toppled him drew condemnation from nations around the world.
West Africa’s main regional bloc ECOWAS expressed dismay at the junta in Niger’s attempts to indict President Bazoum on high treason charges.
The announcement was deemed “very worrying” by UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. Threats to try Bazoum outraged the United States, which claimed that doing so would exacerbate tensions.
Source-France24
