The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has agreed to the “immediate” activation of a regional force overlooking a possible intervention in Niger for recover the “constitutional order” after the coup who ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
This was announced by the president of the bloc’s commission, Omar Touray, during an extraordinary meeting of heads of state and government held this Thursday in Nigeria: “I order the reserve force activation of ECOWAS with all its elements immediately and its deployment to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger,” he said.
Although the block continues determined to resolve the crisis “peacefully”the announcement implies ‘de facto’ a first step towards a hypothetical intervention. The bloc already threatened it after the coup and on July 30 it even gave a ultimatum to the military junta Nigerian to step down from power in seven days.
The military meetinghowever, has ignored ECOWAS calls and it has even taken steps to consolidate itself, appointing a new prime minister, reinforcing its military device and closing airspace. In addition, he has warned that the use of force will have an “instantaneous” and “strong” response.
His allies include the authorities of Burkina Faso and Maligoverned in turn by military juntas, which have already warned that a hypothetical military intervention in Niger would mean a “declaration of war” also against them.
In this context, Touray underlined this Thursday ECOWAS’ “continuous commitment” to “restore constitutional order through peaceful means” and the president of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, head of ECOWAS, has also advocated promoting dialogue and exhausting “all diplomatic avenues”.
“The political crisis in Niger not only represents a threat to the stability of the nation, but also has far-reaching implications for the entire West African region,” warned Tinubu, who has defended the need for “engage all parties, including coup leaders, in serious discussions to convince them to step down from power and reinstate President Bazoum.”
Source: Lasexta
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