US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says his country strongly supports the position of regional body ECOWAS in its threat to use force if ousted Niger President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated by this Sunday.
Soldiers detained Bazoum on July 26th and took power. This drew regional and global condemnation, including from the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council.
Blinken was guarded in explaining how Washington intended to support ECOWAS in its effort to return Niger to constitutional order.
“We strongly support the very strong leadership of ECOWAS on Niger. I don’t want to get ahead of where things are, but what ECOWAS has done in terms of stating very clearly that there’s an expectation for return to the constitutional order and a continuation of the democratic process.”
