The West African bloc ECOWAS met in Ghana on Thursday and reiterated that it is prepared for military intervention in Niger if all diplomatic efforts to reverse a coup there fail.
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah said all members of the 15-nation regional bloc, except those under military rule and Cape Verde, are ready to intervene in Niger.
Overview
The defence chiefs of ECOWAS met in Accra as part of the most recent efforts to tackle the situation in Niger, where President Mohamed Bazoum was deposed in a military coup on 26 July.
Leaders said the bloc is ready to forcibly intervene should diplomatic efforts to reverse the nation’s coup fail.https://t.co/jcVZwf0GCF
— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) August 17, 2023
The military chiefs of the bloc accused Niger’s military junta of “playing cat and mouse” by refusing to meet with ECOWAS envoys.
Musah said that while military intervention was the last resort, the military operation remained on the table.
Addressing the heads of defence staff from member states meeting at the Camp Burma military base, the commissioner for political affairs, peace and security stressed that "the military and the civilian forces of West Africa are ready to answer the call of duty.”
Musah said Cape Verde and countries under military rule, including Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea, are the exceptions.
If push comes to shove, we are going into Niger with our own contingents and equipment and our own resources to make sure we restore constitutional order,” he asserted.
Musah also condemned charges of treason against Bazoum announced by the junta on Monday and said “if other democratic partners want to support us, they are welcome.”
ECOWAS Stands for Democracy
“Democracy is what we stand for, and it’s what we encourage,” Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, said at the start of the two-day meeting in Accra.
“The focus of our gathering is not simply to react to events, but to proactively chart a course that results in peace and promotes stability,” he highlighted.
The Accra meeting on Thursday and Friday comes after the latest jihadist attack in Niger’s Tillaberi region, where 17 soldiers were killed in an ambush.
"Democracy is what we stand for and it’s what we encourage", said Nigeria's Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, in Ghana's capital, during a meeting between Ecowas military chiefs yesterday over possible armed intervention in Niger. https://t.co/mjJYBCJI2D pic.twitter.com/UckZ9sGplX
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) August 18, 2023
ECOWAS had set 6 August as the deadline for the coup to reinstate Bazoum and reverse the coup.
The grouping also aborted the joint mission with the African Union (AU) and UN in August after the junta denied permission to begin negotiations.
Opposition to Intervention
Niger’s neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, who were also victims of recent military coups, have warned that any military intervention in Niger would be seen as a declaration of war on their countries.
Al Jazeera reported that Ghana was also sceptical about provoking its direct neighbour, with which it shares cultural ties and military cooperation agreements.
Meanwhile, there have been reports that the AU’s Peace and Security Council could overrule a military intervention if it felt that it would hamper the wider stability of the continent.
There are also apprehensions about the poor record of ECOWAS in preventing recent coups in the region.