Algeria Postpones Mediation in Coup-hit Niger

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (dpa)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (dpa)
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Algeria Postpones Mediation in Coup-hit Niger

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (dpa)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (dpa)

Algeria said on Monday that it was putting on hold its mediation efforts aimed at ending the political crisis in coup-hit neighbour Niger.

The West African nation has been governed for more than two months by a military regime which took power after deposing Niger's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.

In August, Algeria proposed a six-month transition plan under the supervision of a "civilian authority led by a consensual figure accepted by all sides of the political class" which would lead to "re-establishment of the consitutional order in the country".

Early this month, the foreign ministry in Algiers said Niger's coup leaders had accepted the plan, and hours later Niger's Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggested authorities there would "examine Algeria's offer of mediation".

On Monday, though, an Algerian Foreign Ministry statement said Algiers had decided "to delay the initiation of the planned preparatory discussions until it has clarifications" on implementation of the mediation, AFP reported.

After Nigerien authorities informed the Algerians of "their acceptance of Algerian mediation", Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had tasked Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf with "visiting Niamey as soon as possible with the aim of launching discussions... with all stakeholders," the ministry said.

But the exchanges between the two sides "on the agenda and the content of the visit" were not conclusive, it said.

Algeria deplored that "official and public statements from the Nigerien authorities raised questions about their real willingness to follow through on their acceptance of Algerian mediation," it added.

The West African bloc ECOWAS has threatened to use force as a last resort to reinstate Bazoum, who has been held in his residence since the coup.

Tebboune on August 6 said he "categorically" rejected any foreign military intervention in Niger, which borders Algeria to the south.

A military solution would be "a direct threat" to Algeria, he said, stressing "there will be no solution without us. We are the first people affected".



Lebanon: Hezbollah Says it Launches First Drone Attack on Israel's Ashdod Naval Base

File photo: Members of Israeli security and emergency services deploy at the site of a shooting on the Yavne interchange, near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod on October 15, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
File photo: Members of Israeli security and emergency services deploy at the site of a shooting on the Yavne interchange, near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod on October 15, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
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Lebanon: Hezbollah Says it Launches First Drone Attack on Israel's Ashdod Naval Base

File photo: Members of Israeli security and emergency services deploy at the site of a shooting on the Yavne interchange, near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod on October 15, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
File photo: Members of Israeli security and emergency services deploy at the site of a shooting on the Yavne interchange, near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod on October 15, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)

Lebanon's Hezbollah has launched a drone attack on the Ashdod naval base in southern Israel for the first time, the Iran-backed group said on Sunday in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the attack.
On Saturday, Israeli airstrikes in central Beirut killed at least 20 people, as the once-rare attacks on the heart of Lebanon's capital continued without warning while diplomats scrambled to broker a cease-fire.
Lebanon's Health Ministry said 66 people were wounded in the strikes, which were the fourth in central Beirut in less than a week.
US envoy Amos Hochstein traveled to the region in pursuit of a deal to end months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has erupted into full-on war.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.
Also Saturday, a drone strike killed two people and injured three in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre. Other airstrikes killed eight people, including four children, in the eastern town of Shmustar, five others in the southern village of Roumin, and another five people in the northeastern village of Budai.