The West African confederation of states ECOWAS continues to rely on diplomacy after the coup in Niger. The joint parliament wants to send a mediation team to the putschists. France signals support for this course.
In the conflict between the new military junta in Niger and neighboring countries, the parliament of the West African community of states ECOWAS wants to send its own mediation team to the putschists. The MPs of the economic bloc decided this at an extraordinary virtual meeting on Saturday, as reported by the Nigerian state international broadcaster Voice of Nigeria.
Parliament has set up a committee to do this. He should now ask Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, as the current ECOWAS chairman, for permission to travel to Niger. More concrete decisions were not made at the session of Parliament.
Niger’s new rulers have so far refused to receive official ECOWAS delegations. A group of Islamic clerics traveled to Niger on Saturday.
community of states disagree on intervention
At a special summit on Thursday, the ECOWAS heads of state ordered the activation of a military stand-by force to restore constitutional order after the coup d’état in Niger. At the same time, diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution should continue to have priority.
According to the report, during a discussion in parliament, most MPs spoke out against a possible military intervention in Niger. Others called for the bloc to defend itself against military coups.
The ECOWAS Parliament delegation is said to include MPs from most of the eleven active ECOWAS member states: Benin, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. Four countries – Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger – are suspended after military coups.
France supports ECOWAS steps
Meanwhile, France’s Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu reiterated French support for ECOWAS’s moves against the putschists in Niger, which were decided on Thursday. There is full support from France for the decisions of the West African community of states, said the minister in an interview with the regional newspaper “Var Matin”. When asked if he feared armed action in Niger, Lecornu replied, “No.”
With around 26 million inhabitants, Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world. Until the coup, the country was one of the last democratic partners of the US and the European states in the Sahel region on the southern edge of the Sahara. France and the US have important military bases in the country, which is also on a key migration route to Europe.
On July 26, the military ousted the president and suspended the constitution. The putschists have since appointed their own interim government.