A senior official of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has said the commission has decided on a date for military intervention in the Niger Republic Reuters reports.
The statement comes at the end of the two-day meeting of Defence chiefs from the region in Ghana’s capital city Accra where plans relating to logistics and strategy were held in preparation for a possible military intervention in the country.
Abdel-Fatau Musah, a Political Affairs Commissioner with ECOWAS said,
- “We are ready to go anytime the order is given, The D-Day is also decided, which we are not going to disclose.”
Diplomacy still on the table
However, he acknowledged that the regional body has not completely ruled diplomacy off the table stating that discussions are still ongoing.
- “As we speak we are still readying mediation mission into the country, so we have not shut any door… we are not going to engage in endless dialogue.”, he said.
He noted that plans have already been concluded on the requirements both man and material for an intervention but declined to provide figures.
Musah however noted that the coup in Niger is one too many and the region will have to draw a line before it spirals out of control. In his words,
- “The decision is that the coup in Niger is one coup too many for the region, and we are putting a stop to it at this time, we are drawing the line in the sand’’
The Coup in Niger
In July, members of the Presidential Guard in Niger Republic staged a coup to the ire of its neighbours and international partners.
While the region has seen a rise in the spate of coups since 2020, Niger seems to be where they put a stop to the ugly recurrence of military governments in the region.
Besides this, Niger holds great strategic importance in terms of its huge uranium deposit and location as a military base in the fight against Islamic State (ISIS) and Al Qaeda.
ECOWAS had earlier given the Junta in Niger 7 days for the reinstatement of deposed President Bazoum or risk military action.
During its last extraordinary summit on the political situation in Niger, the body ordered its military and all its element to restore constitutional order in the country.
