Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf discussed with his Nigerian peer Yusuf Maitama Tuggar in Abuja the latest developments of the political standoff in Niger following the overthrow of Niger’s president Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.
Attaf arrived on Wednesday in Nigeria, his first leg in a tour of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which will also take him to Benin and Ghana.
Algeria’s top diplomat is mandated by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to find a peaceful political solution to the standoff between Niger’s coup leaders and ECOWAS, according to a statement from the Algerian Foreign Ministry.
In a related development, Niger’s ex-minister of national defense Karidjo Mahamadou cautioned ECOWAS against the military option, saying it would be a serious aggression on his country.
Mahamadou, a founding member of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS-Tarayya) of the ousted president, affirmed unequivocal opposition to any foreign intervention in the domestic affairs of Niger.
He urged all actors to prioritize diplomacy and put the national interests of the Nigerien people above any other considerations.
On Friday, ECOWAS announced a plan for military intervention in Niger to reinstated ousted president and restore constitutional rule if diplomacy failed to do so.
Source: Kuwait News Agency