Niger sent away an African Delegation and received more Sanctions

New sanctions were imposed on Niger by neighboring Nigeria hours after a diplomatic delegation of African countries and the United Nations was sent away without meeting the junta that seized power in late July.

The sanctions imposed by Nigeria's central bank against military officials involved in the coup come a day before an emergency summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to discuss the next steps. ECOWAS had given the military a one-week ultimatum to restore to power the president Mohamed Bazoum, whom they had ousted, but after that deadline, they have yet to fulfill the military intervention they threatened.

Some European and African countries have warned that military intervention by ECOWAS should be a last resort and that diplomatic options should be kept to the last resort. ECOWAS confirmed the termination of the joint mission and said it would "continue to implement all measures to restore constitutional order in Niger".

The argument for not admitting the delegation was that its safety could not be guaranteed given the population's anger. Admitted instead were representatives of neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, where military juntas also rule and which supported Niger.

"The Wall Street Journal" wrote yesterday that the intervention is only postponed and that more preparations are needed, besides that in countries like Nigeria, an operation to restore democratic order meets public (and institutional) resistance.

Niger's armed forces are also preparing, and according to a CNN military source, they are transferring reinforcements to the capital, Niamey. Dozens of vehicles brought military personnel from other parts of the country as early as the evening of August 6. This is also when...