ABUJA: West African leaders will hold a meeting on Sunday in the Nigerian capital city Abuja in order to discuss the military coup in Niger.
In a statement on Friday, the Nigerian leader and head of The Economic Community of West African States said, the international community and ECOWAS would take every step to defend democracy in the African country.
Niger Coup: West Africa Leaders will Meet on Sunday Discuss Situation
Earlier, Niger’s putschists named an army general as the new leader of the unstable nation on Friday, the third day since elected President Mohamed Bazoum was detained. Former colonial master France said hours earlier that it did not consider the coup “final”, adding there was time for plotters to heed international calls to leave democratically-elected Bazoum in office.
But General Abdourahamane Tchiani, head of the Presidential Guard since 2011, read a statement on national TV as the “president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland”. The general presented the coup as a response to “the degradation of the security situation” linked to jihadist bloodshed.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron described the events in Niamey as a coup affecting the wider Sahel region as Western powers scramble to preserve a key ally in the insurgent-stricken region.
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“This coup is completely illegitimate and profoundly dangerous, for Nigeriens, for Niger and for the whole region,” Macron said, calling for Bazoum’s release. General Tchiani said that while Bazoum had sought to convince people that “all is going well… the harsh reality (is) a pile of dead, displaced, humiliation and frustration”.
“The security approach today has not brought security to the country despite heavy sacrifices,” he said. Bazoum and his family have been confined since Wednesday morning to their residence at the presidential palace located within the Guard’s military camp. He is said to be in good health and has been able to talk by telephone to other heads of state including Macron. The Guard’s chiefs staged the coup and on Thursday they won broad army support.
