Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum was seen by his doctor on Saturday, his entourage said, amid rising concerns for his health. The democratically elected leader has been detained since being ousted by members of his guard in a coup d’état on July 26. West African bloc ECOWAS indefinitely suspended a meeting between army chiefs of staff that had been scheduled for today. Read about the day’s events as they unfolded on our live blog. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
This live page is no longer being updated. For more of our coverage of the crisis in Niger click here.
9:31pm: France and the US ‘not exactly on the same page’
FRANCE 24’s Senior Reporter Catherine Norris Trent is reporting from West Africa where she says the situation is “complex” and that there are “several parallel developments taking place at once.”
Talking with diplomatic sources on the ground, Norris Trent says France and the USA – who both have troops in Niger – are “not exactly on the same page”.
8:16pm: Nigeria religious leaders arrive in Niger to meet military junta
Nigerian religious leaders arrived in Niger on Saturday to meet members of the military who seized power last month, sources close to the regime and the delegation told AFP.
Newly appointed Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine received the delegation at the capital’s Diori Hamani airport, Niger’s ANP press agency reported.
The delegation is made up of Muslim religious leaders, and headed by Sheikh Bala Lau, leader of the Izala Salafist movement in Nigeria.
A source close to the delegation told AFP the group had left on their mediation mission with the consent of Nigerian leader Bola Tinubu, who is currently president of the West African bloc ECOWAS.
“The clerical delegation is currently in Niamey on the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to douse tension created by the prospect of military intervention by ECOWAS,” said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“The clerics are in Niamey to explain to the junta leaders that Nigeria is not fighting Niger and that the decisions taken on Niger are not Nigeria’s but those of ECOWAS as a regional bloc,” the source said.
Lau had earlier in the week led a delegation of clerics who met with Tinubu in his office in Nigeria’s capital where the mission was discussed, the source said.
7:07pm: ECOWAS parliament aims to send committee to meet Niger coup leaders
The parliament of West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS aims to send a committee to Niger to meet coup leaders who took power last month and have so far resisted diplomatic pressure to restore civilian rule, a parliament spokesperson said on Saturday.
4:40pm: Detained Niger President Bazoum seen by doctor, according to his entourage
Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been detained since being ousted by members of his guard last month, was seen by his doctor Saturday, his entourage said, amid rising concerns for his health.
The president “had a visit by his doctor today”, a member of his entourage told AFP, adding the physician also brought food for Bazoum, his wife and son who are being held with him.
“He’s fine, given the situation,” the source added.
12:20pm: ECOWAS military action would be a ‘police operation’, says Niger’s FM
Niger’s Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou denied on Saturday that ECOWAS’ proposed military intervention in Niger would be a war against the nation’s people, instead characterising the threat of armed conflict as a “police operation against hostage-takers”.
“The military option seriously envisaged by ECOWAS is not a war against Niger and its people but a police operation against hostage-takers and their accomplices,” he said.
The European Union and the African Union this week joined a chorus of voices calling for ousted President Mohamed Bazoum’s release. Bazoum has been under house arrest since the July 26 coup d’état.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said Bazoum’s reported detention conditions “could amount to inhuman and degrading treatment, in violation of international human rights law”.
L’option militaire envisagée sérieusement par la Cedeao n’est pas une guerre contre le Niger et son peuple, mais une opération de police contre le preneur d’otages et ses complices.
— Hassoumi Massoudou (@HassoumiMassou1) August 12, 2023
10:06am: ECOWAS still working out the details of armed ‘standby force’
Diplomatic sources have suggested that ECOWAS could try to request EU financing to help bring together a military force for its proposed intervention in Niger. FRANCE 24 senior reporter Catherine Norris Trent breaks down some of the legal, logistical and financial challenges facing the West African bloc as it considers its next move.
9:02am: Protests against ECOWAS intervention put regional bloc in a bind
Widespread protests against military intervention in Niger and accusations that former colonial ruler France is behind ECOWAS’ proposal to try to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum by force could have contributed to the regional bloc’s decision to postpone a key military meeting planned for Saturday, FRANCE 24 correspondent Chinwe Ossondu said.
“ECOWAS will also need to listen to the demands of the junta or the population behind the junta,” she said. “The cry of the people in the case of democracy should also be considered, which ECOWAS has actually been ignoring a little bit.”
4:30am: Thousands of coup supporters gather in Niger as ECOWAS suspends military meeting indefinitely
Thousands of Niger coup supporters took to the streets on Friday to protest against plans by West African nations to deploy a military force to the country, as a key regional meeting on a possible intervention was scrapped.
ECOWAS had approved a “standby force” to try to reinstate elected President Mohamed Bazoum, with the EU’s top diplomat expressing concern about his conditions in detention since he was ousted by members of his guard on July 26.
Chiefs of staff from member states of the West African bloc had been set to attend a meeting on Saturday in Ghana’s capital Accra, regional military sources had said on Friday.
But they later said the meeting had been suspended indefinitely for “technical reasons”.
The sources said the meeting was originally set up to inform the organisation’s leaders about “the best options” for activating and deploying the standby force.
ECOWAS has yet to provide details on the force or a timetable for action, and the leaders have emphasised they still want a peaceful solution.
Key developments from Friday, August 11:
Thousands of coup supporters demonstrated in front of a French military base in Niger’s capital Niamey on Friday evening. The protest came just hours after ECOWAS made moves towards a possible military intervention in the country.
The UN human rights chief on Friday expressed concern for the ousted president of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, and his family, saying that the conditions in which they were being held were “rapidly deteriorating”.
“Credible reports I have received indicate that the conditions of detention could amount to inhuman and degrading treatment, in violation of international human rights law,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.
Read yesterday’s live blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
