African Union gives 15-day ultimatum to Niger junta to end regime but soldiers seek continuity

BY SAM MEDNICK and CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — The African Union has asked the junta that overthrew the democratically elected government of Niger to return to barracks within 15 days just as the soldiers, facing growing international pressure, met with senior civil servants to discuss how to run the West African country. “The message given was not to stop the processes underway, to keep on with things,” said Brig. Gen. Mohamed Toumba, one of the coup plotters. Normalcy appears to have returned to the streets of the Nigerien capital Niamey on Saturday. Analysts fear a successful coup in Niger and the sanctions in the aftermath could cause more hardship for millions of poor and hungry people in West Africa.