AU suspends Niger over coup, prepares sanctions

The African Union (AU) has suspended Niger from all its activities following last month’s military coup there and told its members to avoid any action that might legitimise the junta.

The coup has caused alarm among Western allies and democratic African states who fear it could allow Islamist groups active in the Sahel region to expand their reach and give Russia a foothold to increase its influence.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been trying to negotiate with the junta but says it is ready to send troops into Niger to restore constitutional order if diplomatic efforts fail.

In a rare sign of progress, on Tuesday, ECOWAS mediator, Abdulsalami Abubakar, said the weekend visit to Niger had been “very fruitful”.

Abubakar is a former military leader in Nigeria. He said he still hoped for a peaceful resolution.

“Nobody wants to go to war,” he told reporters in Abuja after briefing Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on the mission.

“We started talking. They (the junta) have made their points. We’ll get somewhere hopefully,” he said, without giving details.

The AU Peace and Security Council (AU-PSC) said in a communique, on Tuesday, that it had noted ECOWAS’s decision to activate a standby force.

ECOWAS had asked the AU Commission to assess the economic, social and security implications of deploying such a force.

AU-PSC also said it asked the AU Commission to compile a list of junta members and their supporters for targeted sanctions. “And the application of individual punitive measures.”

Members adopted the resolutions in Tuesday’s statement at a council meeting held on Aug. 14, it said.

ECOWAS has already imposed broad sanctions on Niger, which the AU endorsed.

The AU reiterated calls for the coup leaders to immediately release elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been detained since the coup, and return to their barracks.

The junta has resisted pressure to stand down. On Saturday, it proposed a three-year timeline to organise elections, a plan which ECOWAS rejected.

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