Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Thursday ordered the deployment of the regional organisation's standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray said.
ECOWAS has ordered "the deployment of the ECOWAS Standby Force to restore constitutional order in Niger," Mr. Touray said on Thursday at the end of an extraordinary summit in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. It was not immediately clear what this deployment meant in concrete terms for Niger.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who heads ECOWAS, had said before the resolutions were read out that he hoped "to reach a peaceful resolution," and that "all is not lost."
"No option is taken off the tables including the use of force as the last resort,” he had added. "If we do not do it, no one else will do it for us."
Côte d'Ivoire's president, Alassane Ouattara, told the press before leaving the summit that ECOWAS had intervened in the past in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, when constitutional order was threatened. "Today, Niger is experiencing a similar situation and I would like to say that ECOWAS cannot accept this," he said.
"We have tried to hold dialogue with the putschists in Niger, we have sent delegations and high-level personalities," but they are holding President Bazoum hostage," he added.
ECOWAS is made up of 15 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. However, three member States were suspended following military coups in 2021 (Mali, Guinea) and 2022 (Burkina Faso).
Niger became the fourth member State to be suspended after a military coup on 26 July ousted the country's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.
The military juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso have expressed support for the new regime in neighbouring Niger.
They warned in joint statements on 1 August that “any military intervention against Niger would be tantamount to a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali.” Such a move could result in “disastrous consequences” that “could destabilise the entire region,” they added.
