General Abdourahamane Tiani, head of the military junta in Niger, signed two decrees on Thursday: Authorize the armed forces of Mali and Burkina Faso to intervene in Niger territory “in case of attack”According to a joint statement from the foreign ministries of the three countries.
The decrees came after the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) threatened to resort to the use of force if Niger’s ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, was not released and reinstated after the September 26 coup.
The joint statement was issued in Niamey following the visit of a mixed Malian-Burkinian delegation headed by the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso and Mali, Olivia Rouamba and Abdoulaye Diop, respectively. According to the memo, the mixed delegation stated: support and solidarity Financial and Niamey and Burkina Faso He stated that he refused any kind of military intervention in Niger in the face of ECOWAS’s sanctions and constant pressure.
Possible military action divided the region; The governments of Nigeria, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal have publicly announced in recent weeks that their armies are ready to intervene in Niger territory. At the other extreme, neighboring countries Mali and Burkina Faso, ruled by military juntas, oppose the use of force. they claim that this would mean a declaration of war against them as well, Chad, Guinea-Conakry, Algeria and the Cape Verde Islands reject military intervention and advocate dialogue instead.
The head of the military junta, General Tiani, in a televised speech last Saturday, urged “all the living forces of the nation” to engage in an inclusive national dialogue that would lead to the drafting of a new constitution. In the same way, he gave 30 days to the different political forces of the country to make proposals on how the transition process, which will take a maximum of three years, according to Tiani, but this initiative was not accepted. by ECOWAS.