Regional tensions are deepening as the standoff between Niger and ECOWAS shows no signs of defusing, despite signals from both sides that they are open to resolving the crisis peacefully.
Insurgents killed 17 soldiers and wounded nearly 24 in the first major attack in half a year against the army in Niger, where Western powers fear a coup by the
Nigeriens are preparing for a possible invasion by countries in the region, three weeks after mutinous soldiers ousted the nation s democratically elected presi.