A delegation from regional nations is expected to arrive in Niger in a last-ditch diplomacy effort to reach a peaceful solution with mutinous soldiers who ousted the country's president last month.
A delegation from nations in the region met for the first time Saturday with Niger's junta leader and the country's deposed president in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to peacefully resolve the country's crisis.Representatives from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, led by former Nigerian head of state Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, met separately with Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, the junta leader, and toppled President Mohamed Bazoum.
The 11 member states who agreed to intervene militarily don't include the bloc's three other countries under military rule following coups: Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso. The latter two have warned they would consider any intervention in Niger an act of war. On Friday, Niger's state television said that Mali and Burkina Faso had dispatched warplanes in a show of solidarity.
Also on Saturday, the new U.S. Ambassador to Niger, Kathleen FitzGibbon, arrived in the capital, said Matthew Miller, spokesman for the State Department. The U.S. hasn't had an ambassador in the country for nearly two years. Thousands of people in the capital of Niamey lined up outside the main stadium to register as fighters and volunteers to help with other needs in case the junta requires support. Some parents brought their children to sign up.
Events organizer Amsarou Bako claimed the junta was not involved in recruiting volunteers to defend the coup, although it is aware of the initiative. Hours after the drive started, the organizers said it would be postponed, but didn't explain why. Prior to the coup, Western countries had seen Niger as one of the last democratic nations they could partner with to beat back a growing jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, and poured millions of dollars of military aid and assistance into shoring up Niger's forces.
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