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Added on the 18/08/2023 22:23:34 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
Nigeriens on have welcomed the lifting of some of the sanctions that were imposed on the country by West Africa's regional bloc following last year's coup. 'For us, it's like a celebration,' says a local tradesman. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended trade and imposed tough sanctions last July, after Niger's president, Mohamed Bazoum, was ousted in a military coup. SOUNDBITE
West African military chiefs meet in Ghana to coordinate a possible armed intervention aimed at reversing the coup in Niger. IMAGES
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voices support for efforts of the West African bloc ECOWAS on Niger without explicitly backing its call at a summit for military intervention. "ECOWAS, an organization that brings together West African countries, is playing a key role in making clear the imperative of a return to constitutional order, and we very much support ECOWAS' leadership and work on this," he says. SOUNDBITE
Following the emergency summit held in the Nigerian Capital Abuja, the West African ECOWAS bloc President Omar Touray says members have decided "to order the deployment of the ECOWAS standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger". SOUNDBITE
"We prioritise diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the bedrock of our approach," says Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu, who is chairing an emergency summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja. After the coup on July 26, the bloc gave the military leaders a deadline of last Sunday to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum, who is being held at the presidential palace in Niamey, or face the potential use of force. SOUNDBITE
U.S. President Barack Obama attends an outdoor arrival ceremony in heavy rain, as the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
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