Algeria proposes ‘six-month transition plan’ to resolve Niger crisis

Algeria has proposed a plan to resolve the political crisis in neighboring Niger with a six-month transition period led by a civilian, the North African nation’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf said on Tuesday.

Attaf, who recently toured West African states, said "most of the countries we have talked to are against military intervention to end the crisis".

West African army chiefs from the regional ECOWAS bloc met in Ghana last week to discuss a possible military intervention in Niger after members of its presidential guard seized power last month and established a junta.

Algeria has repeatedly said it was against military intervention, pointing to the chaos that followed NATO action in Libya in 2011 during its uprising against longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Algerian officials have spoken three times since the military takeover to the Niger military leader, who wants a transitional period of up to three years, Attaf said.

Thousands of protesters in Niger have staged rallies in the capital Niamey to voice their support for the military government and demand the immediate withdrawal of French troops from the West African country.

The Niger military has accused the nation's former colonizer France of being the force behind ECOWAS' determination to restore deposed president Mohamed Bazoum Bazoum to office to serve the West's interests.

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