AU Suspends Niger Republic, Call For President Bazoum’s Release

Niger Republic has been suspended from being part of the African Union (AU).

The suspension follows the ousting and continuous detention of democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum by a military junta, Naija News reports.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, AU said the Republic of Niger is now suspended from all its activities, regretting the military coup on July 26, which has put the African country in crisis mode for weeks now.

The AU reiterated calls for the coup leaders to release Bazoum and return to their barracks.

The AU Peace and Security Council has taken note of the West African bloc ECOWAS’ decision to activate a standby force for possible military intervention and asked the AU Commission to assess the economic, social, and security implications of deploying such a force.

Recall that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had said earlier that it is prepared to send troops into Niger if diplomatic efforts to restore democracy fail.

The AU called on all of its member states and the international community to refrain from any action that could legitimise Niger’s junta and said it strongly rejected interference from any actor or country outside of Africa.