NIAMEY
\nWest African nations have rejected a call by Niger\u2019s coup leaders for a three-year transition back to democracy, as the crisis-hit country\u2019s neighbours weigh whether to take military action.
\nGeneral Abdourahamane Tiani has declared he will hold off a return to civilian rule after army officers toppled President Mohamed Bazoum last month.
\nHis announcement came after a delegation from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, which has threatened to use force to reinstate Bazoum, visited Niger in a final diplomatic push.
\n\u201cThe three-year transition is unacceptable,\u201d Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for politics and security, told Al Jazeera in an interview broadcast on Monday. \u201cWe want constitutional order to be restored as soon as possible.\u201d
\nIn a televised address on Saturday, Tiani accused ECOWAS of preparing to attack Niger by setting up an occupying force in collaboration with a foreign army, without referencing which country.
\n\u201cIf an attack were to be undertaken against us, it will not be the walk in the park some people seem to think,\u201d he said. 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. The bloc has agreed to activate a \u201cstandby force\u201d as a last resort to restore democracy in Niger.
\nIt has said it is ready to act, although it is still pursuing diplomacy and has given no date or details about any intervention. Unlike a previous ECOWAS mission in early August, this time the delegation held talks with Tiani and also met Bazoum, who is being held with his family at the presidential palace and could be facing treason charges.
\nImages on Niger television showed Bazoum smiling and shaking hands with members of the delegation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NIAMEY West African nations have rejected a call by Niger\u2019s coup leaders for a three-year transition back to democracy, as the crisis-hit country\u2019s neighbours weigh whether to take military action. General Abdourahamane Tiani has declared he will hold off a return to civilian rule after army officers toppled President Mohamed Bazoum last month. His announcement […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351006,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-350997","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n