The African Union has backed the decisions taken by the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS at its emergency meeting on Thursday in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
The regional leaders among many decisions decided to activate a standby force to possibly engage in a military intervention in Niger.
The military junta that took power in Niger last month has refused to engage envoys from ECOWAS, AU and UN for a resolution of current political crisis.
ECOWAS leaders insist the coup leaders must restore civilian rule and bring back to power the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
“No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort,” Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, the ECOWAS chair said on Thursday.
But an official communique read out after the Thursday ECOWAS summit ordered the bloc’s defence chiefs to “activate the ECOWAS Standby Force with all its elements immediately”.
The AU in a statement on Friday said that it supports the move by the ECOWAS heads of state.
“The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, expresses his strong support for the decisions adopted by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on anti-constitutional change in Niger,” the statement said.
The AU though expressed concerns about the detention conditions of President Mohamed Bazoum which is said were poor.
“Indeed, concordant sources attest to a worrying deterioration of such conditions,” the AU statement stated.
The AU commission Chairperson also called “on the military authorities to urgently halt the escalation of relations with the regional organization ECOWAS, including the cessation of the continued sequestration of President Bazoum in worryingly poor conditions.
Such treatment of a democratically elected president through a regular electoral process is unacceptable.”
Communiqué of the Chairperson of the AU Commission in support of the 10 August 2023 ECOWAS decisions regarding Niger pic.twitter.com/KOkAHjtRTc
— Ecowas – Cedeao (@ecowas_cedeao) August 11, 2023
Bazoum who has already called on the international community to intervene said abandoning Niger would be disastrous.
He has been held prisoner with his wife and son since the military coup on July 26.
Human Rights Watch officials who to Mr. Bazoum, described the treatment of his family as “inhuman and cruel”.
“My son is sick, has a serious heart condition, and needs to see a doctor,” HRW quoted Bazoum as telling them.
ECOWAS activates standby force for possible military intervention in Niger
Source: Africafeeds.com
