ECOWAS defence chiefs continued their talks in Ghana on Friday on the crisis in Niger after coup leaders there ignored the West African bloc’s deadline to step down, leaving the region’s countries with few options in their effort to restore democratic rule. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments on the situation in Niger. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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CORRECTION: Contrary to what was stated Thursday on air, Guinea-Bissau is indeed represented in Accra by its army chief of staff. The president of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, has assured FRANCE 24 that his country “fully agrees with the decisions taken by ECOWAS at the meeting of the chiefs of staff”.
2:24pm: EU chief warns of ‘grave consequences’ if Niger president’s health suffers
EU chief Charles Michel warned there will be “grave consequences” if Niger’s military regime allows ousted President Mohamed Bazoum’s health to worsen under house arrest, a European official said Friday.
In a call to President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, chair of the ECOWAS regional bloc which opposes the Niger coup, Michel said “President Bazoum’s detention conditions are deteriorating”.
1:46pm: An ECOWAS military intervention in Niger would likely be ‘very targeted’, expert says
If West African bloc ECOWAS decides to intervene militarily in Niger, it would likely opt for a “narrow and focused” action, because Niger’s vast size makes a conventional takeover “impossible”. Paul Melly, a consulting fellow of the Africa programme at Chatham House, speaks to FRANCE 24.
12:09pm: ECOWAS offering Niger junta ‘an option to choose the peace process’
FRANCE 24’s Justice Baidoo, reporting from Ghana, says that “all options are still on the table” at the ECOWAS talks. West African defence chiefs are “offering the junta in Niger an option to choose the peace process, which is for them to stand down without the military force”, Baidoo added. He also said that it had been “very difficult to get any information from a lot of the ECOWAS officials who are here. In one hand they say that they are very settled in that this action is going to happen. In another they are unable to tell when and how that is going to happen”.
11:50am: UN rights chief says democracy must be restored in Niger
The United Nations on Friday slammed the generals who have seized power in Niger on “a whim” and plunged the country further into misery, demanding that constitutional order be immediately restored.
“Generals cannot take it upon themselves to defy – at a whim – the will of the people,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement. “Rule-by-gun has no place in today’s world.”
Turk highlighted that Niger was already one of the poorest countries in the world, with nearly half of the population “mired in extreme poverty”.
He warned that the coup was further worsening the situation, with borders closed, trade at a standstill and severe power cuts and rising food prices, and called for “full and free access for humanitarian assistance”.
Turk lamented that “the very people who they elected to build a pathway to end their destitution have been removed by force against the constitutional order and detained by the coup leaders”, he said.
“They must be released at once, and democracy restored.”
Turk raised concerns about the announced decision by coup leaders to prosecute detained President Mohamed Bazoum.
“This decision is not only politically motivated against a democratically elected President but has no legal basis as the normal functioning of democratic institutions have been cast aside,” he said.
He also described “a clampdown on civic space”, pointing to allegations of intimidation against journalists and bans on international media outlets, as “very worrying”.
Key developments from Thursday, August 17:
West African military chiefs began talks in Ghana on Thursday to discuss a possible armed intervention to reverse the coup in Niger.
The African Union has rejected the idea of a military intervention, as have several regional capitals.
The junta said it is open to talks but has been holding deposed President Mohamed Bazoum since it took power July 26 and says it wants to prosecute him for treason.
Read yesterday’s liveblog to see how the day’s events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
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