Deadline arrives for Niger juntas to reinstate president but tensions remain

The deadline arrived Sunday for Niger’s military junta to reinstate the country’s ousted president, but the West Africa regional bloc that has threatened a military intervention faces prominent appeals to pursue more peaceful means. In the capital, coup leaders appeared at a stadium rally where a chicken decorated in the colors of former colonizer France was beheaded, to cheers.

Neighboring Nigeria’s Senate has pushed back against the plan by the regional bloc known as ECOWAS,…