Niger's Detained President Receives Medical Attention as ECOWAS Halts Military Meeting

Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been detained since being ousted in a coup, was seen by his doctor amid rising concerns for his health. The West African bloc ECOWAS suspended a meeting between army chiefs of staff that had been scheduled for today. Nigerian religious leaders arrived in Niger to meet with the military junta, and the ECOWAS parliament aims to send a committee to meet with the coup leaders. Niger's Foreign Minister denied that ECOWAS' proposed military intervention would be a war against the nation's people, characterizing it as a "police operation against hostage-takers." Thousands of coup supporters protested against plans for military intervention, leading to the indefinite suspension of the military meeting.