REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 29 (Reuters) - Algeria is proposing an initiative to resolve the political crisis in neighbouring Niger with a six-month transition period led by a civilian, Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf said on Tuesday. Attaf, who recently toured West African states, said "most of the countries we have talked to are against military intervention to end the crisis". Algeria has repeatedly said it was against military intervention, pointing to the chaos that followed NATO action in Libya in 2011 during its uprising against longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. Algerian officials have spoken three times since the coup to the Niger military leader, who wants a transitional period of up to three years, Attaf said. Last week Algerian state television said President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had denied permission to France for a possible military operation in Niger, but France denied it had sought any such permission.

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Persons: Francis Kokoroko, Ahmed Attaf, Attaf, Muammar Gaddafi, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Lamine Chikhi, Angus McDowall, Andrew Cawthorne, Alex Richardson Organizations: Defense, REUTERS, West, ECOWAS, NATO, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Republic of Niger, Accra, Ghana, Algeria, Niger, West African, Libya, Sahel, Algerian, France