Niger’s military junta ‘wants to go the same route as their peers in Burkina Faso and Mali’

As a military junta in Niger marked two weeks in power Wednesday, its leaders are appointing a government and rejecting calls for negotiation in what analysts described as an attempt to entrench their power and show that they’re serious about governing the West Africa country in the face of an escalating regional crisis. The junta has named a new prime minister and made a slew of other new cabinet appointments. They also refused to admit mediation teams that planned to come Tuesday from the United Nations, the African Union, and West African regional bloc ECOWAS who threatened to use military force if the junta didn’t reinstate Bazoum by Sunday. As the junta seeks to secure its hold on power, FRANCE 24 is joined by Sebastian Elischer, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida.