Representatives of an important West African political bloc met on Saturday with ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum and the junta leader who instigated his overthrow, according to a report from Reuters.
Citing a Nigerian official, the news agency reported that a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States, often abbreviated as ECOWAS, was in the Nigerien capital of Niamey seeking to resolve regional tensions that have skyrocketed since Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani and his supporters seized power in July. Bazoum is believed to be detained in Niger, and he has described himself as a hostage of the new regime.
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A Nigerian official posted a picture of the delegation meeting with Bazoum on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, Reuters reported.
ECOWAS has signaled that it may intervene in Niger to reverse the coup, the third one in the region since 2020. The bloc said it has agreed on a “D-Day” for a possible invasion but has not disclosed when that date is.
The delegation reportedly included ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray and Abdulsalami Abubakar, the former military leader of Nigeria.
None of the parties involved in the Saturday talks have commented on their outcome, though Tchiani did later give a speech saying the Nigerien people do not want war.
Together with earlier coups in Burkina Faso and Mali, the military takeover in Niger is viewed as a major threat to stability in a region already wracked by poverty and Islamist insurgencies. Niger has been a key United States ally in West Africa, and the Biden administration is reportedly looking for a way to keep U.S. troops in the country on anti-terrorism missions despite Tchiani’s seizure of power.
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The new governments of Mali and Burkina Faso have struck an openly anti-Western, pro-Russia posture, and there are concerns the junta in Niger may share their outlook. Some Nigeriens have rallied in support of the military regime, seeing an opportunity to break military and economic ties with France, the former colonial ruler of Niger, which, until July, still enjoyed considerable influence in the Saharan country. France has refused to engage with the junta.
Concerns have grown in recent days that armed action by ECOWAS could set off a regional war.
