Sharjah 24 – AFP: West African nations have rejected a call by Niger's coup leaders for a three-year transition back to democracy, as the crisis-hit country's neighbours weigh whether to take military action.
General Abdourahamane Tiani has declared he will hold off a return to civilian rule after army officers toppled President Mohamed Bazoum last month.
His announcement came after a delegation from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, which has threatened to use force to reinstate Bazoum, visited Niger in a final diplomatic push.
"The three-year transition is unacceptable," Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for politics and security, said in an interview broadcast on Monday.
"We want constitutional order to be restored as soon as possible."
In a televised address on Saturday, Tiani accused ECOWAS of preparing to attack Niger by setting up an occupying force in collaboration with a foreign army, without referencing which country.
"If an attack were to be undertaken against us, it will not be the walk in the park some people seem to think," he said.
ECOWAS leaders say they have to act now that Niger has become the fourth West African nation since 2020 to suffer a coup, following Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali.
The bloc has agreed to activate a "standby force" as a last resort to restore democracy in Niger.
It has said it is ready to act, although it is still pursuing diplomacy and has given no date or details about any intervention.
On Sunday, several thousand people demonstrated in Niger's capital in the latest in a string of pro-coup rallies.
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