The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Thursday it had suspended Niger from all decision-making bodies of the regional bloc starting December 10, after recognizing that the country's government had been overthrown in a coup more than four months ago.
"The Summit of 10 December recognized that the Government of H.E. Mohamed BAZOUM has been effectively overthrown in a military coup. Therefore, from 10 December 2023, Niger stands suspended from all decision-making bodies of ECOWAS until the restoration of constitutional order in the country," ECOWAS said in a statement posted on X.
ECOWAS said that before the leaders' summit on December 10, it had considered the situation in Niger as an attempted coup, allowing members of the government of ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum to participate in the bloc's meetings.
In response to the military coup in Niger in late Jule, ECOWAS imposed a number of sanctions on the West African country, including closing borders with the country, suspending financial transactions and freezing Niger's assets. The measures led to shortages of key resources in the country.
n late October, Niger's Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine, referring to the ECOWAS sanctions on Niger, emphasized that no country in the world had been subjected to such "injustice."