DAccording to the organization, the West African community of states ECOWAS is ready for military intervention in Niger if the order is given. ECOWAS will not engage in an endless dialogue, announced ECOWAS commission chief Abdel-Fatau Musah on Friday after a meeting in the Ghanaian capital Accra. However, all options, including a diplomatic solution, remained on the table. The aim is to restore the constitutional order in the shortest possible time.
The military chiefs of nine ECOWAS countries had previously discussed how to proceed after the military coup in Niger for two days. 15 West African countries belong to ECOWAS, including Niger itself. So far, ECOWAS had emphasized that it wanted to do everything for a diplomatic solution first.
“We are ready for action at any time”
First, an ECOWAS mission will go to Niger, Musah said. If this fails, the confederation will resort to a military solution to restore constitutional order in Niger. The activation of the ECOWAS stand-by force has begun. “We’re always ready to go,” Musah said. A date for a possible military action has already been set; however, this could not be mentioned publicly, according to the ECOWAS Commissioner. All member states except for the states governed by the military and Cape Verde have therefore agreed to participate.
The junta in Niger, which took power on July 26 after a coup, has declared itself willing to talk and has so far blocked all diplomatic efforts by ECOWAS.
ECOWAS, like the African Union, the European Union and the United Nations, is calling for the immediate release of Niger’s rightful President, Mohamed Bazoum, who has been under house arrest since the coup. However, the military junta announced on Sunday that it wanted to bring charges against Bazoum for high treason. ECOWAS reacted with outrage and declared that this was a provocation by the coup leaders, which contradicted the desire for a peaceful solution to the crisis. Accordingly, the meeting of the military chiefs now served the goal of being prepared for a military operation.
Bazoum’s election in 2021 marked the first democratic transfer of power in Niger, and the military has staged four coups since independence from France in 1960. German soldiers are also currently stationed in Niger to ensure stability as part of a European Union mission. The Sahel state with around 26 million inhabitants and one of the poorest populations in the world was one of the last democratic partners of the USA and European states in the Sahel zone on the southern edge of the Sahara before the coup. France and the US have important military bases in the country, which is also on a key migration route to Europe. A possible ECOWAS military operation in Niger has fueled fears of further destabilization of the Sahel region.