Algeria proposes 6 months transition to resolve Niger crisis

Algeria Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf says the North African country is tabling a plan to end the political crisis in Niger with a six-month transition phase run by a civilian.

Reuters reported Attaf, who recently toured West African states, as saying, “The majority of the countries we have talked to are against military intervention to end the crisis.”

The regional ECOWAS bloc’s army chiefs had gathered in Ghana last week to talk about potential military action in Niger after members of the country’s presidential guard overthrew the government and installed a military junta last month.

Algeria had, at several times, made it clear that it opposed military action, citing the instability that followed NATO involvement in Libya in 2011 following the country’s uprising against longstanding leader Muammar Gaddafi.

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The Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, had requested a transitional phase of up to three years in three conversations with Algerian authorities since the coup, according to Attaf.

Without going into further detail, Algeria stated that as part of its effort, it would seek a United Nations meeting to restore constitutional order, offer guarantees to all parties involved in the crisis, and convene a conference on development in the Sahel region.

Last week, Algerian state television reported that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had rejected France’s request for permission to conduct a potential military operation in Niger. 

However, France denied that it had made such a request.