APA – Bamako (Mali) – Bamako, which has moved closer to Niamey, has threatened to quit the West African regional bloc if it intervened militarily in Niger to reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.
This information was confirmed by Mali’s junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita, on his Twitter page.
He said he had hled a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin.
The conversation revolved around the situation in Niger, where Ecowas continues to threaten military intervention to restore constitutional order through the reinstatement of President Bazoum.
In his message on Twitter, Mali’s transitional president said that he had stressed to his Russian counterpart “the importance of a peaceful resolution to the situation for a more stable Sahel.”
This appeal comes at a time when Mali and Burkina Faso, both under transition, have expressed solidarity and support for the new military authorities in Niger.
The authorities of these two countries, who have even sent a delegation to Niamey, have declared that they consider “a military intervention in Niger to be a declaration of war.”
For these two countries, “any military intervention against Niger would lead to the withdrawal of Burkina Faso and Mali from the bloc.
Bamako and Ouagadougou also threatened to take “self-defense measures in support of the armed forces and people of Niger.”
In addition, the two nations and Guinea have indicated that they will not adopt sanctions imposed by Ecowas against Niger.
Since the military putsch of 26 July, the Bamako-Niamey axis has been strengthened.
This was reflected in two visits to Bamako by the No. 2 in the Niger junta, Lieutenant General Salifou Mody, Minister of Defence.
This was followed by a trip to Niger by the Malian government’s spokesman, Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, accompanied by the head of the Defense Ministry, Colonel Sadio Camara, who came to express their solidarity with the Nigerian military authorities who are seeking support.
MD/ac/fss/as/APA