A Tuesday negotiation delegation organized by the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the United Nations (UN) was denied admission by the military junta, maintaining the tense situation in the Niger Republic.
In the capital city of Niamey on Monday, U.S. envoy Victoria Nuland spoke with junta members but was not permitted to meet either jailed President Mohamed Bazoum or military leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani.
Nevertheless, the U.S. administration stated that it would keep pursuing a diplomatic resolution, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Tuesday.
The UN Security Council has been urged not to authorize military action against the putschists in Niger by the military governments of Burkina Faso and Mali.
The junta that overthrew the government of Niger, suspended the constitution, and detained the president had been threatened with probable military action by ECOWAS.
In a letter to the UN Security Council and the African Union, the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso and Mali pleaded with them “to prevent, by all means at its disposal, armed action against a sovereign state, the consequences of which would be unforeseeable in their magnitude.”
The goal, according to both nations, was to “avoid the security situation deteriorating with the multiplication and spread of terrorist groups and a humanitarian tragedy.”
Following coups, Burkina Faso and Mali are temporarily suspended from ECOWAS and have openly expressed support for the military government in Niger.
They proclaimed that they would oppose the ECOWAS sanctions and that any use of force would be viewed as a “declaration of war” against their own countries.
