EU cut off financial support; West Africa leaders to meet over Niger coup, junta warns against intervention. Top Updates
financial market, and close borders, a report by Reuters has claimed. -Niger's eastern neighbour Chad, a non-member of both regional organisations, has been invited to the ECOWAS summit, a statement from the Chadian president's office said on Saturday. -The European Union and France have cut off financial support to Niger and the United States has threatened to do the same.
-UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted, "I condemn in the strongest terms any effort to seize power by force and to undermine democratic governance, peace & stability in Niger. The @UN stands by the Government and the people of Niger." -According to the World Bank, Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, receiving close to $2 billion a year in official development assistance. -Moreover, it is also a security partner of former colonial power France and the United States, which both use it as a base to fight an Islamist insurgency in West and Central Africa's wider Sahel region.
The US and former colonial power France view Niger as a crucial partner in addressing security issues in the region. Niger borders seven African nations, including Libya, Chad, and Nigeria. -Ahead of the Sunday summit, the military leaders in Niger warned in a statement read on Niger national television on Saturday night against any military intervention.
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