(3 minutes read)
Chad’s military leader and transitional president Mahamat Idriss Déby arrived in Niger recently for talks with the leaders of a coup who have detained the country’s elected president, Mohamed Barzoum.
Chad’s military leader and transitional president Mahamat Idriss Déby arrived in Niger recently for talks with the leaders of a coup who have detained the country’s elected president, Mohamed Barzoum.
Deby’s arrival came after the West African regional bloc ECOWAS gave Niger’s coup leaders a seven-day deadline to free Barzoum and return him to power or face consequences. Military intervention by ECOWAS troops has not been ruled out.
If the regional bloc uses force, it could trigger violence not only between Niger and ECOWAS forces but also civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say. The 15-nation ECOWAS bloc has unsuccessfully tried to restore democracies in nations where the military took power in recent years.
Read Also:
https://trendsnafrica.com/ruto-condemns-coup-in-niger-says-serious-setback-to-democracy/
https://trendsnafrica.com/ecowas-condemns-attempted-coup-in-niger/
https://trendsnafrica.com/coup-in-niger-was-not-a-surprise-event-analysts/
Chad is not a member of ECOWAS so Deby is seen as a more neutral intermediary to talk to the coup leaders. Meanwhile, a new communique by the putschists claimed a member of Barzoum’s government had signed a document sanctioning France to take military action to free Barzoum.
