Niger military junta appoints more ministers and continues to reject talks

2023-08-09 20:46:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The leaders of the coup d'état in Niger have appointed other ministers and banned most international mediators from entering the country, actions that analysts say represent an attempt to consolidate power in the face of pressure from the international community to restore constitutional order in the country.
Meanwhile, an adviser to President Mohamed Bazoum, who is under house arrest after the coup, said he is running out of food and facing terrible conditions, but he will never give up.

Mr. Bazoum, along with his wife and son, are being held in the presidential palace in Niamey after rebel soldiers rose against his rule on July 26.

Meanwhile, the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, which had warned of military intervention to restore the democratically elected government, is expected to hold a meeting this Thursday to discuss the situation in Niger.
Military leaders elected economist Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine as prime minister. Mr. Zaine previously served as Minister of Economy and Finance, but stepped down after his government was toppled by another military coup in 2010. He then worked for the African Development Bank.

The rebel soldiers who detained President Mohamed Bazoum in the presidential palace and took control of power on July 26 claimed that they carried out the act because they were better able to protect the country from jihadist violence.

Groups linked to the al-Qaeda group and the Islamic State group have devastated the Sahel region, south of the Sahara desert.
But many analysts and diplomats say that this fact did not play much of a role in the military coup, but that the fall of the government came about because of the ambitions for power between President Bazoum and General Abdourahmane Tchiani, who led the presidential guard, and who now leads the whole country.

The coup represents a blow to many Western countries, for whom Nigeria represented one of the remaining democratic partners in the region with which they could cooperate to defeat the extremist threat. Nigeria is also an important supplier of uranium.

This week, US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met with the leaders of the military coup, but said they did not allow her to meet President Bazoum. She said the rebel soldiers did not accept her calls to start talks and restore constitutional order in the country.

The United States has a military presence of 1,100 troops in the country and has considered Niger a strategic and reliable partner in the region./VOA