The defence chiefs of countries within the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Wednesday began a three-day meeting in Nigeria over the situation in Niger where soldiers recently overthrew the elected government of Mohammed Bazoum. Defence chiefs from Mali, Niger, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Guinea-Bissau were absent from the meeting, a source present at the meeting told Xinhua. But the junta has vowed to resist any plan of aggression against Niger by the ECOWAS or any Western power. The governments issued a joint statement on Friday, expressing their solidarity with the people of Niger and denouncing the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS. The sanctions were imposed after Niger’s military junta refused to hand over power to civilians after a coup in February.

Source: Daily News Egypt August 02, 2023 20:17 UTC