Abuja, Nigeria

ECOWAS, the West African regional bloc said on Saturday (Feb 24) that it was lifting some of the sanctions imposed on Niger following military coup in the country last year. The bloc said that the decision was being taken on humanitarian grounds and a no-fly zone, asset freezes and border closures were being stopped "with immediate effect".

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Last year, Niger's president Mohamed Bazoum was deposed in a military coup. This led ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) to impose tough sanctions and suspend trade with Niger.

On Saturday, the lifting of some of the sanctions was announced by ECOWAS Commission chief Omar Alieu Touray at ECOWAS summit in Abuja, Nigeria.

Following the Niger coup, ECOWAS had warned of military intervention but the threat eventually fizzled out. Bazoum remains jailed inside presidential palace in Niamey.

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Touray said that lifting of the sanctions would include unfreezing of Niger's assets in ECOWAS central banks and resumption of financial transactions between ECOWAS and Niger.

But Touray told AFP "individual sanctions as well as political sanctions remain in place in Niger... (and) in other countries political sanctions remain".

There are several opinions within the ECOWAS as to how the grouping should address the situation created by military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea. 

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Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said during the summit that the grouping should reconsider its strategy while dealing with the situation.

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Tinubu -- who is also head of ECOWAS -- said "we must re-examine our current approach to the quest for constitutional order in four of our member states".

The four countries have been suspended from ECOWAS following the coups. They have warned that they would permanently withdraw from the grouping but ECOWAS has called on them to not take such a step.

(With inputs from agencies)