Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cautioned on Thursday that resorting to a military resolution for the coup situation in Niger would be catastrophic, potentially inciting a fresh migration crisis.
The primary West African coalition, ECOWAS, has been engaged in negotiations with the coup instigators who assumed control last month. However, the coalition has cautioned that it is prepared to deploy troops to Niger for the reinstatement of constitutional order should diplomatic endeavors prove unsuccessful.
“(A) military solution (would) be a disaster,” Tajani told reporters as he arrived at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in the Spanish city of Toledo. “We need to work day by day for a diplomatic solution.”
The ongoing crisis in Niger will be a central focus of the meeting, featuring addresses from Hassoumi Massoudou, the foreign minister of the deposed government, and Omar Touray, the president of the ECOWAS Commission.
When asked whether he was concerned that military intervention might result in a migration crisis, Tajani responded affirmatively, stating, “Yes, of course. To have a war in Niger (means) more people leaving this country, as in Sudan – there are more and more people leaving Sudan.”
Tajani expressed support for an Algerian proposition presented this week as a means to resolve the crisis. The proposal entails a six-month transition phase directed by a civilian authority.
