General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of the powerful presidential guard of Bazoum has declared himself leader of the country. At an extraordinary Summit held in Abuja, Nigeria, on Sunday, African leaders of the region threatened to take action and gave Tiani one week to surrender power and to restore the deposed leader. “In the event the authorities’ demands are not met within one week (ECOWAS will) take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. In addition to the ultimatum, ECOWAS also on Saturday slapped financial sanctions on the military leaders and on the country, freezing “all commercial and financial transactions” between member States and Niger. Niger, one of the world’s largest uranium producers, is one of the world’s poorest nations.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 31, 2023 13:37 UTC