Niger junta declares new government as ECOWAS mulls strategy

The military junta that took control of Niger in a coup late last month declared the members of a new government Cabinet on Thursday. 

Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian economist, will lead the 21-member government, with generals from the new military governing council heading the defense and interior ministries.

The announcement came as leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc met for an emergency summit on the situation in Niger. The meeting comes two weeks after a military coup overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum.

What are regional leaders discussing?

The bloc says it is seeking a diplomatic solution, although it has not ruled out using force to resolve the crisis.

After a cascade of coups among member states, ECOWAS gave the troops who seized power on July 26 until last Sunday to reinstate Bazoum as president.

Both Niger's neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, where military governments have also seized power, say an armed intervention in Niger would be tantamount to a declaration of war on their countries.

The Niger coup leaders on Tuesday rejected a bid to send a joint team of ECOWAS, UN and African Union representatives to Niger.

President running out of food

Bazoum, Niger's democratically elected leader, has been held at the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey, with his wife and son since mutinous soldiers moved against him on July 26.

An adviser said the family was living without electricity and was running out of food, with only rice and canned goods left to eat.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced concern about Bazoum and his family after reports about the conditions under which they were being detained. 

"The Secretary-General ... once again calls for his immediate, unconditional release and his reinstatement as head of state," a UN spokesperson said on Wednesday.