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Niger’s coup leader General Abdourahmane Tchiani has proposed a three-year transition of power after meeting a delegation of West African leaders and warned that any attack on the country would “not be a walk in the park” for those involved.
Tchiani was speaking on national television late on Saturday, gave no details on the potential transition, saying only that the principles for the move would be decided within 30 days at a dialogue to be hosted by the ruling military council.
“Neither the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland nor the people of Niger want war, and remain open to dialogue,” he said after his first meeting with delegates from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, reports Al Jazeera.
“But let us be clear: If an attack were to be undertaken against us, it will not be the walk in the park some people seem to think,” he added.
ECOWAS has imposed severe sanctions on Niger following the July 26 coup and has ordered the deployment of a “standby force” to restore constitutional rule in the country.
Tchiani claimed ECOWAS was “getting ready to attack Niger by setting up an occupying army in collaboration with a foreign army” and denounced what he called “illegal” and “inhuman” sanctions imposed by the regional bloc.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
