Niamey, 15 August, 2023 / 9:00 pm (ACI Africa).
After organizing a “triduum prayer” for peace in Niger following a July 26 military coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum from power, members of the Episcopal Conference of Togo (CET) have reaffirmed their solidarity with people of the West African nation.
“We, the Archbishops and Bishops of Togo, reaffirm, in the name of the Church Family of God in Togo, our solidarity with the people of Niger,” CET members said in their statement issued Monday, August 14.
They appeal to the “conscience and sense of responsibility of political decision-makers,” inviting them to “favor, at all costs, the diplomatic path of negotiation, dialogue and mediation in the search for a solution to the prevailing crisis in Niger, by listening to the cries of distress of the people of Niger.”
On August 14, Niger’s coup leaders announced that they were going to prosecute ousted President Bazoum on treason charges “over his exchanges with foreign heads of state and international organizations.”
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has reportedly cut off Niger's “financial transactions, electricity supplies and closed its land borders, blocking crucial imports.”
