The deadline has arrived Sunday for Niger’s military junta to reinstate the country’s ousted president, but the West Africa regional bloc that has threatened a military intervention faces prominent appeals to pursue more peaceful means.
The coup adds another layer of complexity to the West Africa region that’s struggling with military takeovers, Islamic extremism and a shift by some states toward Russia and its proxy, the Wagner mercenary group. Hours before Sunday’s deadline, hundreds of youth joined security forces in the darkened streets in Niger’s capital, Niamey to stand guard at a dozen roundabouts until morning, checking cars for weapons and heeding the junta’s call to watch out for foreign intervention and spies.
The most favourable scenario for an intervention would be a force coming in with the help of those on the inside, he said.