The announcement of this visit comes just after the expiry at midnight on Sunday of the ultimatum set by the Economic Community of West African States

Niger: an official Mali/Burkina delegation sent to Niamey in "solidarity"

PHOTO/ORTN-TÉLÉ SAHEL/AFP - This frame grab image obtained by AFP from ORTN - Télé Sahel on July 26, 2023 shows Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane (C), spokesman for the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) speaking during a televised statement

AFP

07 de agosto de 2023 (12:46 h.)

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The Malian army announced on Monday the sending of a joint Malian and Burkina Faso official delegation to Niamey in "solidarity" with Niger, the scene of a military coup at the end of July and under threat of West African military intervention.

"Burkina Faso and Mali are sending a delegation to Niamey, led by Malian minister Abdoulaye Maïga, one of the strongmen of the Malian junta," the Malian army said on social media. "The aim is to demonstrate the solidarity of the two countries with the brotherly people of Niger," it added.

The delegation is expected to arrive in Niger on Monday, according to the Nigerien foreign ministry.

The announcement of this visit comes just after the expiry at midnight on Sunday of the ultimatum set by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the Nigerien military to reinstate ousted President Mohammed Bazoum. ECOWAS has threatened to use force after the deadline expired.

Mali and Burkina Faso, where the military also seized power by force in 2020 and 2022, warned in a joint statement that they would consider such an intervention a "declaration of war".