Baku. TurkicWorld:
Algeria has put forward a proposal to address the political crisis in the neighboring Niger, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf announced that this initiative involves a six-month transition period led by a civilian leader.
During his recent tour of West African nations, Attaf noted that "most of the countries Algeria has talked to are against military intervention to end the crisis".
Last week, West African army chiefs from the ECOWAS bloc met in Ghana to discuss the possibility of military intervention in Niger following a recent coup by members of the presidential guard, resulting in the establishment of a junta.
Algeria has consistently expressed its opposition to military intervention, citing the turmoil that followed NATO's involvement in Libya in 2011 during the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. According to Attaf, Algerian officials have engaged in three conversations with the Niger military leader, who has proposed a transitional period of up to three years.
As part of its initiative, Algeria intends to call for a United Nations conference to restore constitutional order, offer guarantees for all parties involved in the crisis, and host a development conference for the Sahel region. However, specific details were not provided.
Last week, Algerian state media reported that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had denied France permission for a potential military operation in Niger, a claim that France later refuted, stating that it had not sought such permission.
France currently maintains approximately 1,500 troops in Niger, a deployment established prior to last month's coup. However, France claims that it has not indicated any intention to employ military intervention to reverse the recent military takeover.
France's military presence in West Africa has become more precarious in the wake of a series of coups across the Sahel region since 2020. Its forces were expelled from Mali and Burkina Faso, and anti-French sentiment has been on the rise in the streets of Niger's capital, Niamey, following the coup that occurred on July 26th.
