ECOWAS DEFENCE CHIEFS AGREE ON ‘D-DAY’ FOR MILITARY INTERVENTION IN NIGER

Sat 19 August 2023:

The major West African bloc has agreed on a “D-day” for possible military involvement in Niger to restore democracy after generals deposed and imprisoned President Mohamed Bazoum last month.

According to a senior official, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed on Friday to activate a standby force as a last resort if diplomatic attempts fail.

“We are ready to go any time 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 Ghana’s capital, Accra.

“The D-day is also decided. We’ve already agreed and fine-tuned what will be required for the intervention,” he said, emphasising 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.

Since the coup, Bazoum and his family have been kept inside the president’s official residence; however, worldwide concern over his incarceration conditions is mounting. Bazoum’s election in 2021 marked a turning point in the turbulent history of Niger.

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.

The international community and ECOWAS viewed the coup in Niger as one too many. Along with threatening a military invasion, the bloc has enacted harsh travel and economic restrictions.

However, as time passes without any military intervention and a deadlock in discussions, Niger’s military leaders are solidifying their hold on power, giving ECOWAS few options.

However, any use of force would further destabilize the poor Sahel region of West Africa, which has already been fighting armed groups for ten years.

Because of its uranium and oil riches and its function as a conduit for foreign soldiers engaged in the conflict with armed organizations associated to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), Niger also has strategic significance outside of West Africa.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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