MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th August, 2023) The top diplomats of Mali and Burkina Faso have issued a joint letter, declaring responsibility of the UN Security Council for the resolution of the Nigerien crisis and urging the organization to take all necessary measures to prevent armed actions against Niamey.
"The transitional Governments of Burkina Faso and the Republic of Mali appeal to the Primary responsibility of the Security Council ...�to use all means at its disposal to prevent armed action against a sovereign State (of Niger), the consequences of which would be unpredictable," the letter read.
Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop and his Burkina Faso's counterpart, Olivia Rouamba, also said in the document that their countries are committed to finding solutions to the crisis "exclusively through diplomacy and negotiations."
A coup took place in Niger on July 26. President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted and detained by his own guard, led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani. The caretaker National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland closed the country's borders and broke security agreements with France, its former colonizer.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave coup leaders one week to reinstate Bazoum and restore order, hinting that it would resort to military intervention otherwise. Its ultimatum expired this past Sunday. Mali and Burkina Faso, also ECOWAS members, have rejected the intervention scenario in Niger, showing discord in the ranks of what is generally considered a pro-French regional alliance.
