Niger’s neighbors and the UN seek to deescalate tensions with last-minute diplomacy

By SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Nigeriens face deepening uncertainty about whether a regional bloc will follow through on its threat to use military force to try to reinstall ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, nearly two weeks after mutinous soldiers overthrew the democratically elected leader. The West African regional bloc ECOWAS had given the mutinous soldiers until Sunday to release and reinstall Bazoum or they threatened to use force. Members from ECOWAS, the U.N. and the African Union are expected to join talks in the capital, Niamey, on Tuesday, a foreign official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to media. A senior U.S. diplomat sent to Niger on Sunday to kickstart talks said the junta was unreceptive to her call for a negotiated solution.