Niger’s coup leader, Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani has said he would return the country to civilian rule within three years.
Tchiani on Saturday met mediators from the regional bloc, ECOWAS in the capital, Niamey, as part of efforts to resolve the crisis.
This is the first meeting between the junta and ECOWAS mediators following the meeting in Accra, by military chiefs from the sub-region.
Ecowas has threatened military action to re-instate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum if the junta refused peaceful resolution.
Tchiani said a speech televised on TV that Niger did not want a war but won’t let go defending itself against any foreign intervention.
He “if an attack were to be undertaken against us, it will not be the walk in the park some people seem to think.”
The ECOWAS mediators also met ousted President Bazoum after holding talks with the junta leader, a Nigerian presidential spokesperson said.
“After meeting …. (junta leader) General Abdoulrahmane Tchiani, the ECOWAS delegation in Niger have also visited President Mohamed Bazoum this evening,” Nigerian presidential spokesperson Abdulaziz Abdulaziz said on X.
The delegation included Nigeria’s former military leader Abdulsalami Abubakar and ECOWAS commission President Omar Touray.
The latest developments over the weekend could rejuvenate efforts at a peaceful resolution of the political crisis.
On Saturday, thousands of men came to a stadium in Niamey to register for a volunteer force should ECOWAS invade.
Niger: ECOWAS military deployment in limbo amid growing opposition
Source: Africafeeds.com
