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🔴 Live: Chadian president welcomes Niger’s junta-appointed prime minister
Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno welcomed Niger’s junta-appointed prime minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, for a visit on Tuesday, the Chadian government announced. A spokesperson for the West African bloc ECOWAS confirmed the group will meet in Ghana later this week to discuss a possible intervention in Niger. Follow our live blog for the latest updates. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
Issued on: 15/08/2023 – 14:15
Modified: 15/08/2023 – 18:50
3 min
Lt. General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, president of the Chadian Transitional Council, looks on during his meeting with Sudan’s prime minister in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on August 29, 2021.
Lt. General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, president of the Chadian Transitional Council, looks on during his meeting with Sudan’s prime minister in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on August 29, 2021. © AFP
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6:47pm: Niger’s military-appointed PM visits neighbouring Chad
Niger’s military-appointed prime minister made a visit on Tuesday to neighbouring Chad, holding talks with President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, the presidential office said.
Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian appointed following the coup in Niger on July 26, arrived for a “working visit”, the government said on Facebook, while the presidency’s press office said he handed Deby a “message” from the head of regime.
6:20pm: Blinken says still ‘space for diplomacy’ to reverse Niger coup
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday he still saw a chance for diplomacy to reverse a coup in Niger, as the West African bloc ECOWAS keeps up pressure on the military rulers in Niamey.
“We remain very focused on diplomacy in achieving the results that we want, which is the return of the constitutional order, and I believe that there continues to be space for diplomacy in achieving that result,” Blinken told reporters.
3:48pm: Niger coup is ‘setback’ for Sahel development, says German minister
The coup in Niger is “a setback that aggravates the complex development challenges in the country and in the Sahel further”, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said on Tuesday during a visit to West Africa.
“We call for the immediate release of President Mohamed Bazoum and for the full restoration of constitutional order in the Republic of Niger,” Schulze said in a statement on behalf of the Sahel Alliance.
1:45pm: West Africa military chiefs to discuss Niger crisis this week
Military chiefs from the West African bloc ECOWAS will meet in Ghana’s captial Accra this week to discuss a possible intervention in Niger, a spokesperson for the regional group has confirmed.
The meeting on Thursday and Friday – originally scheduled for last weekend but then postponed – comes after ECOWAS leaders last week approved deployment of a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger, whose president was toppled on July 26.
Their summit, held in the Nigerian capital Abuja last Thursday, also reaffirmed the bloc’s preference for a diplomatic outcome.
12:45pm: Niger junta ‘has no legitimacy’ to try Bazoum, exiled minister tells FRANCE 24
Niger’s military junta has no right to prosecute the country’s deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, his exiled foreign minister has said in an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24 and its sister radio RFI.
Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massoudou, a close ally of Bazoum, said the deposed president was being “held hostage” by the military junta that has seized power in the impoverished West African nation.
Speaking from neighbouring Nigeria, where he sought refuge in the wake of the coup, Massoudou condemned the putschists’ announcement on Monday that they would prosecute Bazoum for treason, saying the junta had “no legitimacy to try anyone”.
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© FRANCE 24 screengrab
11:50am: Putin urges peaceful resolution in Niger in call with Mali junta leader
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a peaceful resolution to the Niger crisis in a telephone call with Mali’s junta leader, Assimi Goïta, the Kremlin has said.
“The importance of resolving the situation with regard to the Republic of Niger exclusively by peaceful political and diplomatic means was emphasised,” the Kremlin said.
Key developments from Monday, August 14:
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Niger’s coup leaders that toppled Mohamed Bazoum said they would “prosecute” the deposed president for “high treason” and “undermining the security” of the country – an announcement that was met with condemnation from around the world.
West Africa’s main regional bloc ECOWAS said it was shocked to learn of attempts by Niger’s junta to bring charges of high treason against President Bazoum. The UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric described the announcement as “very worrying”. The United States voiced outrage over threats to try Bazoum, saying the move would worsen tensions.
Six Niger soldiers and 10 “terrorists” were killed on Sunday during fighting in the west of the country, authorities said.
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