Niger: ECOWAS team leaves without meeting coup leader
Baku, August 4, AZERTAC
A team from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS has left Niger without carrying out scheduled plans, including a meeting with the leader of the junta that seized power in the country following last month's coup, according to DW.
The delegation had arrived in the capital, Niamey, on Thursday "but did not spend the night" as scheduled, the French AFP news agency quoted a delegation member as saying on Friday.
Led by former Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar, the delegation was scheduled to meet coup leader Abdourahamane Tchani,who also goes by Omar, to present the bloc's demands.
It was also scheduled to meet Niger's ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
The regional bloc has given the junta until Sunday to reinstate Bazoum, threatening to use force though stressing it wouldn't spare any effort to resolve the crisis amicably.
A multi-day meeting of the region's defense chiefs about the potential military response will wrap in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, later on Friday.
Beyond Africa, Germany urged continued "mediation efforts" on Friday, with a Foreign Ministry spokesman expressing hopes that such mediation would lead to a "political solution."
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