Day: December 15, 2023
The 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has formally suspended Niger’s membership in the regional bloc until constitutional order is restored in the country.
In a statement sent to Xinhua Friday, the ECOWAS Commission said the suspension followed a decision of the Authority of Heads of State and Government at the recently concluded 64th ordinary session, held in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on Dec. 10.
“The Authority of Heads of State and Government considered the situation in the Republic of Niger as an attempted coup,” the statement said.
Mohammed Bazoum, who was overthrown by the country’s presidential guard in late July, remained the democratically elected president, according to the statement.
In a statement issued at the end of the 64th ordinary session, the West African leaders emphasized the need for the immediate and unconditional release of Bazoum while deploring both his continued detention and that of his family members and associates, as well as the lack of commitment on the part of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) to restore constitutional order in the country.
The military in Niger detained Bazoum on July 26 and chose Abdourahamane Tchiani, former leader of the country’s presidential guard, to lead the CNSP, a governing body established by the soldiers after the coup, which has been since exercising legislative and executive authority.
The ECOWAS comprises Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Categories
NPR News: 12-15-2023 11PM EST
Russia plans to conduct seven launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in 2024, the commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) Lieutenant General Sergei Karakayev said on Friday.
In an interview with Russian newspaper Red Star, Karakayev said that in the past five years, the SMF has conducted more than 20 ICBM launches as part of flight tests of new missile systems and training exercises for the Russian armed forces.
He said that the “Avangard” complex with a hypersonic warhead, which was put on combat duty, was tested from the Yasny formation in the Orenburg region using some of the existing infrastructure of the positional area. “Seven launches are planned for 2024,” he added.
Russia and the United States, Karakayev said, continue to exchange information on the planned launches of intercontinental missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).
“The Russian Federation informs the American side of any planned launch of an ICBM and SLBM no less than a day in advance. The United States also provides similar information,” he said.
He added that Russia informs the United States of all missile launches no less than 24 hours in advance in line with the agreement between the former Soviet Union and the United States from 1988 and the Treaty on the Reduction of Strategic Offensive Arms.
“Such a notification indicates the planned date of launch, the place of launch, and the area of impact of the warheads,” Karakayev said.