African Union suspends Niger over coup

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

The coup last month 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, who is a former military leader of Nigeria, said a weekend visit to Niger had been ‘very fruitful’ and that he still had hope 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 own points. We’ll get somewhere hopefully,” he said, without giving further details.

The AU Peace and Security Council said in a communique on Tuesday that it had noted ECOWAS’ decision to activate a standby force and asked the AU Commission to assess the economic, social, and security implications of deploying such a force.

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

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