Leaders of the West African bloc Ecowas are meeting for an emergency summit in Nigeria on Thursday, after their ultimatum to soldiers who have seized power in Niger was ignored. Meanwhile the junta, which continues to detain the elected president, said it had formed a new government.
Two weeks after the coup that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) says it is seeking a diplomatic solution but has not ruled out using force to resolve the crisis.
Important decisions are expected from the gathering in Nigeria's capital Abuja, according to a statement from the 15-nation organisation on Tuesday.
It comes as Niger's military rulers unveiled a new government. The junta has selected 20 ministers, with generals from the new military governing council heading the defence and interior ministries, coup leader General Abdourahamane Tiani announced on national television on Wednesday night.
The cabinet is led by Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, an economist and former finance minister who the junta declared prime minister earlier this week.
Ecowas gave the coup leaders until last Sunday to reinstate Bazoum or face potential use of force. But the junta remained defiant, and the ultimatum passed without action.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday's summit, Guinea-Bissau's President Umaro Sissoco Embalo said the future of Ecowas was at stake following coups in four member states – Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and now Niger.
Bazoum remained Niger's sole recognised president and coups must be ended, he said.
Nigerian mediators
While earlier efforts to open talks with international mediators have failed, Niger's military junta met with two envoys from Nigeria on Wednesday, offering hope for dialogue.
The envoys – two prominent traditional leaders, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Abdullsalami Abubarkar – were allowed into Niger despite closed borders.
Only Sanusi met junta leader Tiani, while his fellow envoy met with other representatives at the airport.
Sanusi told Nigerian state television he would deliver a "message" to Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu, though he was not an official government emissary.
"We’ll continue to do our best to bring the two parties together to improve understanding. This is the time for public diplomacy," said Sanusi, who is known to be a close friend of Tinubu.
Concern for detained president
Bazoum has been detained by members of his presidential guard since 26 July.
His party has accused the junta of keeping him and his family in "cruel" and "inhumane" detention at the presidential residence.
In a statement calling for a nationwide mobilisation to save them, the PNDS-Tarayya party on Wednesday said the Bazoums had no running water, no electricity and no access to fresh goods or doctors.
The secretary-general of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, denounced "the deplorable living conditions that President Bazoum and his family are reported to be living under", according to a UN statement.
The US State Department also expressed deep concern about the "deteriorating conditions" of his detention.
Internal challenge to coup leaders
The political situation in Niger became more complex on Wednesday as former rebel Rhissa Ag Boula announced a new Council of Resistance for the Republic (CRR) aimed at reinstating Bazoum.
"Niger is the victim of a tragedy orchestrated by people charged with protecting it," Ag Boula's statement said. The CRR would use "any means necessary" to stop the military takeover and supports international diplomacy, he said.
Ag Boula played a leading role in uprisings by the nomadic Tuareg group in northern Niger in the 1990s and 2000s. Like many former rebels, he was integrated into government under Bazoum and his predecessor, Mahamadou Issoufou.
His challenge to the coup leaders raises the spectre of internal conflict in Niger.
(with newswires)
