INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
States, ECOWAS, had set a deadline of Sunday for Niger's military to give up power and reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum, who was
detained on July 26, or face the possibility of military intervention.With the deadline passing, the military in Niger has closed the skies
rejection of its ultimatum, the bloc is now set to hold another meeting on Thursday to mull its next line of action
intervention will reportedly be discussed on Thursday, but ECOWAS, like its previous summit's statement, has repeated that it is a last
resort.A segment of the statement issued in the previous "extraordinary session of the ECOWAS authority of heads of states and government on
the political situation in Niger" on July 30 in Abuja, Nigeria, on resolving the unrest in Niger, stated that "in the event the Authority's
ally who allowed France, the former colonial power, and the United States to keep their military bases and troops in a country that is the
of State Victoria Nuland was denied permission to meet with the military's self-declared leader Abdourahamane Tiani or with Bazoum, who is
under house arrest.Instead, she held talks for two hours with other army officers; but any progress on Washington's goals in Niger hit a
conversations were extremely frank and at times quite difficult, because, again, we're pushing for a negotiated solution
It was not easy to get traction there
They are quite firm in their view of how they want to proceed, and it does not comport with the Constitution of Niger."The 1,100 United
States troops in Niger, who had previously been free to roam about as they wished, have now been restricted to their military bases and the
is Nigerien Air Base 201 in the central city of Agadez, from where the Pentagon flies drones to allegedly fight extremist militants
the second-largest United States military base in Africa.After the Nigerian military intervention against President Bazoum, locals have
militants in Niger as well as threats in both the Sahel and Lake Chad Region.Again, locals say they have witnessed no security improvements
people in the region prefer a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to the crisis.This is particularly evident among lawmakers in states along
in a show of unity with the leaders of Niger's military amid threats to intervene against them."We will not accept military intervention
Our survival depends on it," a spokesman for Mali's military said on Niger state television.There are unintended consequences of resorting
to military force to achieve political objectives
Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan stand out as some examples.With no post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation planning in place, it could
