The West African bloc agreed to activate standby force as a last resort if diplomatic efforts fail after the coup in Niger.
Regional defence chiefs met in Accra for two days to finalise preparations for potential military action in Niger, where the democratically elected president was ousted last month in a coup. If diplomacy fails, ECOWAS has threatened to use force to restore constitutional rule in Niger.
There are worries that additional instability could deteriorate Niger’s already precarious security situation.
After the military chiefs meeting on Friday, the West African main bloc agreed on a “D-day” for possible military intervention to restore democracy in Niger after generals toppled and detained President Mohamed Bazoum last month.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed on Friday to activate a standby force as a last resort if diplomatic efforts fail, a senior official said without disclosing when that is.
“We are ready to go anytime the order is given,” ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdel-Fatau Musah said during the closing ceremony of a two-day meeting of West African army chiefs in Accra.
“The D-day is also decided. We’ve already agreed and fine-tuned what will be required for the intervention,” he said, emphasizing that ECOWAS was still seeking to engage peacefully with Niger’s military leaders.
“As we speak, we are still readying [a] mediation mission into the country, so we have not shut any door.”
The defence chiefs met to fine-tune details of the potential military operation to restore Bazoum if ongoing negotiations with the coup leaders fail.
“Let no one be in doubt that if everything else fails, the valiant forces of West Africa, both the military and the civilian components, are ready to answer to the call of duty,” Musah said.
Military officers deposed Bazoum on July 26 and have defied calls from the United Nations, ECOWAS and others to reinstate him.
Most of ECOWAS’s 15 member states are prepared to contribute to the joint force, except Cape Verde and those also under military rule – Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea – a bloc official said on Thursday.
Bazoum, whose 2021 election was a landmark in Niger’s troubled history, has been held with his family at the president’s official residence since the coup, and international concern is growing over his conditions in detention.
ECOWAS has a poor track record in stemming the region’s rampant coups. Neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali have each had two within three years.
Niger’s coup was seen by the international community and ECOWAS as one too many. In addition to threatening a military invasion, the bloc has imposed severe economic and travel sanctions.
But as time drags on with no military action and a standstill in negotiations, Niger’s military leaders are becoming entrenched in power, leaving ECOWAS with few choices.
Any use of force would further destabilise West Africa’s impoverished Sahel region, which is already engaged in a decade-old battle with armed groups.
Niger also has a strategic importance beyond West Africa because of its uranium and oil reserves and role as a hub for foreign troops involved in the fight against the armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).
