Niger military junta aborts negotiation meeting with ECOWAS, AU

The Niger Republic junta has rejected a tripartite peace mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU), and the United Nations (UN).

ECOWAS confirmed the development in a statement on Tuesday.

The delegation was the latest diplomatic mission from African countries aimed at restoring constitutional order after the July 26 coup.

ECOWAS said the diplomatic overtures were aborted following a late-night communication from the military authorities in Niger indicating their unavailability to receive the delegation.

“As per the decision of the ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit held on 30 July 2023, the Community will continue to deploy all measures in order to restore constitutional order in Niger,” the statement reads.

TheCable had also reported that Victoria Nuland, United States acting deputy secretary of state, was also denied permission to meet with Abdourahamane Tiani, coup leader, or with ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been held hostage since the power grab.

Instead, she spoke for two hours with other army officers.

“These conversations were extremely frank and at times quite difficult, because, again, we’re pushing for a negotiated solution,” Nuland said.

“They are quite firm in their view of how they want to proceed, and it does not comport with the Constitution of Niger.”

The Niger junta had failed to meet the ECOWAS deadline to reinstate Bazoum which expired on Sunday.

The bloc is expected to meet on Thursday to draw up a plan on how it will proceed.