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'Unacceptable': ECOWAS decries Niger junta's call for three-year transition

Niger's General Abdourahamane Tiani — who took power after army officers toppled President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 — said over the weekend that a transition of power would not go beyond three years.

AP

The bloc has agreed to activate a "standby force" as a last resort to restore democracy in Niger and has said it ready to act though it is still pursuing diplomacy. / Photo: AP

A call by Niger's coup leaders for a three-year transition back to democracy is "unacceptable", a representative of the West Africa bloc ECOWAS has said.

"The three-year transition is unacceptable," Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for politics and security, told Al Jazeera channel in an interview broadcast on Monday.

"We want constitutional order to be restored as soon as possible."

In his televised address on Saturday, Niger's General Abdourahamane Tiani said a transition of power would not go beyond three years, after army officers toppled President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.

Tiani spoke after a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) visited Niger for a final diplomatic push before deciding whether to take military action against Niger's new rulers.

He charged ECOWAS with preparing to attack Niger by setting up an occupying force in collaboration with a foreign army, without referencing which country.

But 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.

Niger to respond ‘immediately’ to any ‘aggression’ from ECOWAS

Millions of children in heightened danger

Meanwhile, the UN's children's fund has said the crisis in Niger is amplifying risks for millions of vulnerable youngsters.

"The current situation is of great concern and adds a heavy burden to an already dire humanitarian landscape," UNICEF's Niger representative, Stefano Savi, said in a statement.

"At present, more than two million children have been impacted by the crisis and are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance."

Even before the latest instability, around 1.5 million children under the age of five were forecast to be malnourished in 2023, he said in the statement dated Saturday.

The landlocked Sahel state ranks among the most turbulent and poorest countries in the world, often ranking at the bottom of the UN's Human Development Index, a benchmark of prosperity.

UNICEF said it was continuing to provide support but has faced mounting hurdles.