ALGIERS: Algeria’s top diplomat began a tour of West African countries Wednesday in a bid to find a solution following the coup in neighboring Niger, where Algiers opposes any military intervention.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf was “mandated by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune” to go on a diplomatic tour to Nigeria, Benin and Ghana, the Algerian foreign ministry said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He is set to hold “consultations on the crisis in Niger and ways of dealing with it” with his counterparts in the West African countries, which form part of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The West African bloc has threatened to use force to reinstate Niger’s elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, who was detained by guards on July 26.
Algeria, which shares a 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) long land border with Niger, has previously cautioned against a military solution, which Tebboune said would be “a direct threat” to his North African country.
He stressed “there will be no solution without us (Algeria). We are the first people affected.”
The African Union suspended Niger on Tuesday until civilian rule is restored and said it would assess the implications of any armed intervention.
Algeria — Africa’s largest country — also shares borders with Libya and Mali, both in the throes of years-long conflicts.
Niger is the fourth nation in West Africa since 2020 to suffer a coup, following Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali.
The juntas in Burkina Faso and Mali have said that any military intervention in their neighbor would be considered a “declaration of war” against their countries.
Algeria FM on West Africa tour to discuss Niger crisis
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Algeria FM on West Africa tour to discuss Niger crisis
- Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf goes on diplomatic tour to Nigeria, Benin and Ghana
UN rights chief Shocked by 'unbearable' Darfur atrocities
- Mediation efforts have failed to produce a ceasefire, even after international outrage intensified last year with reports of mass killings, rape, and abductions during the RSF’s takeover of El-Fasher in Darfur
PORT SUDAN: Nearly three years of war have put the Sudanese people through “hell,” the UN’s rights chief said on Sunday, blasting the vast sums spent on advanced weaponry at the expense of humanitarian aid and the recruitment of child soldiers.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that has left tens of thousands of people dead and around 11 million displaced.
Speaking in Port Sudan during his first wartime visit, UN Human Rights commissioner Volker Turk said the population had endured “horror and hell,” calling it “despicable” that funds that “should be used to alleviate the suffering of the population” are instead spent on advanced weapons, particularly drones.
More than 21 million people are facing acute food insecurity, and two-thirds of Sudan’s population is in urgent need of humanitarian aid, according to the UN.
In addition to the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis, Sudan is also facing “the increasing militarization of society by all parties to the conflict, including through the arming of civilians and recruitment and use of children,” Turk added.
He said he had heard testimony of “unbearable” atrocities from survivors of attacks in Darfur, and warned of similar crimes unfolding in the Kordofan region — the current epicenter of the fighting.
Testimony of these atrocities must be heard by “the commanders of this conflict and those who are arming, funding and profiting from this war,” he said.
Mediation efforts have failed to produce a ceasefire, even after international outrage intensified last year with reports of mass killings, rape, and abductions during the RSF’s takeover of El-Fasher in Darfur.
“We must ensure that the perpetrators of these horrific violations face justice regardless of the affiliation,” Turk said on Sunday, adding that repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure could constitute “war crimes.”
He called on both sides to “cease intolerable attacks against civilian objects that are indispensable to the civilian population, including markets, health facilities, schools and shelters.”
Turk again warned on Sunday that crimes similar to those seen in El-Fasher could recur in volatile Kordofan, where the RSF has advanced, besieging and attacking several key cities.
Hundreds of thousands face starvation across the region, where more than 65,000 people have been displaced since October, according to the latest UN figures.
