- According to two Western diplomats who spoke to The Associated Press, the Nigerian junta threatened to kill ousted President Mohamed Bazoum if any neighboring nations sought to intervene militarily to restore his power.
- A Western military officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity because to the sensitivity of the matter stated that during U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland’s visit to the nation this week, representatives of the junta informed her about the danger to Bazoum.
- The regional ECOWAS bloc said Thursday it had directed the deployment of a “standby force” to restore democracy in Niger after the coup. However, it gave no details about the make-up, location and proposed date of deployment for any military intervention force.
- Heads of member states of the West African bloc met in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, Thursday.
- The decision by “the military authorities in the subregion to deploy a standby force of the community” was reiterated by ECOWAS commission president Omar Alieu Touray.
- Financing had been discussed and “appropriate measures have been taken,” he said.
Source:
AP