Niger Coup: African Union Suspends Niger Republic
…Asks Military Rulers To ‘Return To Barracks’
(Business Africa Digest)-The African Union (AU) has suspended Niger Republic from all its activities following a military coup on July 26, the Union said in a statement released on Tuesday.
The AU reiterated calls for the coup leaders to release elected President Mohamed Bazoum and return to their barracks.
The AU Peace and Security Council has taken note of West African bloc ECOWAS’ decision to activate a standby force for a possible military intervention and asked the AU Commission to assess the economic, social, and security implications of deploying such a force.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has said it is prepared to send troops into Niger if diplomatic efforts to restore democracy fail.
The AU called on all of its member states and the international community to refrain from any action that could legitimise Niger’s junta, and said it strongly rejected interference from any actor or country outside of Africa.
ECOWAS had turned down the three-year transition plan proposed by Niger’s military ruler General Abdourahamane Tchiani.
Last Sunday, rebel leader Abdourahamane Tchiani said his government planned to return power back to civilian rulers in the next three years.
General Tchiani during a televised address on Saturday evening said neither the junta “nor the people of Niger want war and remain open to dialogue.”
But Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, in an interview with BBC, described General Tchiani’s proposal as unacceptable.
It was also reported that hundreds of Nigerians took to the streets over the weekend to express their support for the military regime.
Their protest coincided with ECOWAS’s insistence on invading the country to flush out couple leaders if diplomacy fails to return deposed President Mohamed Bazoum to power.
