The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had given the insurgent military until Sunday to release and reinstate Bazoum, under threat of force.
Members of ECOWAS, the United Nations and the African Union were expected to participate in negotiations in the capital Niamey on Tuesday, a foreign official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met with coup leaders in Niger on Monday and said she had been prevented from meeting with Bazoum, who she said was “virtually under house arrest.” She described the mutinous military as unreceptive to her requests to start negotiations and restore constitutional order.
“These talks were extremely frank and at times quite difficult because, again, we pushed for a negotiated solution. It was not easy to gain ground. They are quite firm in their position on how they want to proceed,” Nuland told reporters in a call from Niamey.
Talks are expected to continue all week. ECOWAS was scheduled to meet again on Thursday in Abuja, the capital of neighboring Nigeria, to discuss the situation.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Radio France International on Monday that diplomacy was the preferred path and that he could not speculate on the future of the 1,100 US military deployed in Niger.
Niger has been a crucial partner to the United States and other European countries, which saw it as one of the last democratic countries in the vast Sahel region, south of the Sahara desert, with which they could work together to combat rising violence. jihadist associated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group. If the United States concludes that a coup has taken place in Niger, the country will lose hundreds of millions of dollars in military and other assistance.
Coups have taken place in the region in recent years. Neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso have each had two since 2020, and ECOWAS has had little influence to stop them. The bloc’s harsh response in Niger, where it imposed economic and displacement sanctions and threatened to use force, was an attempt to turn the tide. But the board did not seem open to dialogue. On Sunday it closed the country’s airspace and accused foreign powers of preparing an attack.
The junta, led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani, has tapped into public resentment of its former colonial power, France, and appealed to the Russian mercenary group Wagner for help. Wagner already operates in a handful of African countries, such as Mali, and has been accused of human rights violations.
Nearly two weeks after the coup, the streets of Niamey were mostly quiet, with scattered pro-junta marches waving Russian flags and chanting slogans against foreign interference.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
