2023-08-17 00:18:41
A US official said Fitzgibbon was expected to arrive in Niger later this week.
The US Senate approved Fitzgibbon’s appointment as ambassador to the United States late last month, immediately after the coup, and nearly a year after she was nominated for the post.
Speaking to reporters, Foreign Ministry spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters, “There are no plans to present Fitzgibbon with her credentials to the coup leaders,” explaining that this “is not necessary for working at the embassy.”
“She will go there to lead the mission during a critical time, support the American community and coordinate the efforts of the US government,” Patel added.
“Her arrival does not reflect a change in our position, and we will continue to support a diplomatic solution that respects Niger’s constitutional order,” he added.
Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs and Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland traveled to Niger and held talks earlier this month with senior officials of the military junta that seized power on July 26, but made no progress in the meetings, which she described as “difficult”.
ECOWAS announces the activation of the reserve force
• The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced, on Wednesday evening, the start of activating the standby force in order to “restore constitutional order in Niger”.
• “ECOWAS” said in its account on the “X” platform, “Twitter”, previously, that the chiefs of staff in the countries of the group are meeting in Accra regarding the deployment of reserve forces in Niger.
• ECOWAS continued: “As a follow-up to the directives of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Group at its extraordinary summit on the political situation in Niger, which was held on August 10, 2023 in Abuja, Nigeria, the Committee of Chiefs of Staff of the Group States activated its reserve force, to restore constitutional order in Niger.” .
• According to ECOWAS: “To this end, the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Staff will hold an extraordinary meeting in Accra, the capital of Ghana, on Thursday and Friday to finalize plans for the deployment of the reserve force.”
On Wednesday, ECOWAS called on Niger’s military leaders to restore constitutional order, so that “the army can focus on security,” whose fragility the group said has worsened since the coup.
Members of the presidential guard, led by General Abd al-Rahman Tiani, ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who is still being held despite pressure from the United Nations, ECOWAS and Western powers to reinstate him.
Niger hosts American, French, German and Italian forces as part of international efforts to combat armed rebels, under agreements with the civilian government that was ousted by the army.
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