Significant decisions are anticipated to arise from the convening in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. Leaders from the West African regional body ECOWAS are scheduled to assemble on Thursday for an urgent summit concerning the coup in Niger. This gathering comes after the military leaders in Niger disregarded a deadline to reinstate the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.
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Following the coup that ousted President Bazoum, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has expressed its pursuit of a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. Nevertheless, the possibility of employing force to address the situation has not been ruled out. The statement from the 15-nation organization on Tuesday highlighted that significant resolutions are expected to emerge from the meeting held in Abuja.
Struggling to prevent a series of coups among its member states since 2020, the ECOWAS granted the military faction that seized control on July 26 a deadline until the previous Sunday to reinstate Bazoum, or else face the potential application of force. However, the coup leaders persisted in their defiance, allowing the deadline to pass without any action.
Displaying further resistance to international pressure, the military leaders introduced a new government, as announced through a decree broadcast on national television on Thursday. The 21-member administration will be led by Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, with generals from the newly formed military governing council overseeing the defense and interior ministries.
The prospect of military intervention in Niger, a vulnerable nation that ranks among the world’s most impoverished, has prompted discussions within ECOWAS and raised concerns from neighboring countries such as Algeria and Russia. The neighboring nations of Niger, namely Mali and Burkina Faso, both governed by military regimes established through coups, have asserted that an intervention would amount to a declaration of war against their respective countries.
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