The African Union considers the conditions of detention of President Bazoum “inadmissible”
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, on Friday expressed “serious concern” about the “deterioration of the conditions of detention” of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, judging “inadmissible” his treatment by the military authorities who overturned.
In the same statement, the leader “expresses his firm support for the decisions of ECOWAS”, the Economic Community of West African States, which decided on Thursday to deploy a “standby force” to restore constitutional order. in Niger.
The European Union is concerned about a “deterioration of the conditions of detention” of President Bazoum
The EU expressed its “deep concern” on Friday at the “deterioration of the conditions of detention” of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, overthrown by a military coup, and called again for his “immediate and unconditional” release.
President Bazoum and his family “would be, according to the latest information, deprived of food, electricity and care for several days (…) [Il] has devoted his life to working to improve the daily lives of Nigeriens, there is no justification for such treatment”, indicated on X (formerly Twitter) the head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell.
On Wednesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was similarly alarmed, as we mentioned in this article, saying he was “concerned” about the situation of the elected president and demanding his release.
Date, forces present… the contours of the ECOWAS intervention project remain unclear
After the announcement of ECOWAS concerning its decision to deploy a “standby force”. Côte d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara said Côte d’Ivoire “will provide a battalion” of 850 to 1,100 men, alongside Nigeria and Benin in particular, and that “other countries” will join them. He assured that the intervention would begin “as soon as possible”.
Apart from the announcement of the Ivorian president, the contours of the military intervention project to restore the Nigerien president-elect Mohamed Bazoum remain unclear. The path of diplomacy is also still open by the ECOWAS countries.
Full support from France, more nuanced from the United States
France gave Thursday evening “its full support for all the conclusions” adopted at the summit of heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Niger.
The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken meanwhile declared Thursday that his country supported the action of ECOWAS concerning Niger, without however explicitly approving the decision to deploy its force.
An intervention that must take place “as soon as possible”, according to Côte d’Ivoire
Thursday evening, the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) meeting in an extraordinary summit in Abuja, ordered the deployment of the “standby force” of the regional organization to ” restore constitutional order in Niger, according to the resolutions read by the President of the ECOWAS Commission Omar Touray.
If he did not specify a timetable, the Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara promised that this intervention would take place “as soon as possible”. We give the details of the ECOWAS decision and the context in which it fits in this article.
More than two weeks after the coup, ECOWAS enacts a military intervention project
Hello everyone and welcome to this live dedicated to the news of the coup d’état in Niger and the reactions of the international community, in particular the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
ECOWAS on Thursday ordered the deployment of a “standby force” to restore constitutional order in Niger, and which should intervene “as soon as possible”, according to Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. No timetable has been specified.
In its initiative, the Community received the support of France but also of the United States, which should not however invest itself militarily in the operation.