11 West Africa nations commit to a military deployment to restore ousted president of Niger: ‘ready to go anytime’
- But leaders also say they still favoured dialogue, and that Ecowas could send a diplomatic mission to Niger on Saturday
- Mohamed Bazoum, whose 2021 election was a landmark in Niger’s troubled history, has been held at the president’s official residence since the July 26 coup
Eleven West African nations have agreed to commit troops to a military deployment aimed at restoring Niger’s democratically elected president following last month’s coup, an official for the regional bloc said on Friday after a defence ministers meeting.
The Ecowas bloc previously announced its intention to deploy a force to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been under house arrest since he was overthrown by members of the presidential guard July 26. But the 15-member bloc had not detailed which countries would join, nor has it said when the force might enter Niger.
On Friday, the Ecowas commissioner for peace and security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, said 11 countries have committed to the deployment.
Our troops are ready to respond to the call of duty of the region
“We are ready to go anytime the order is given,” Musah said in the Ghana capital, Accra, following two days of meetings there. “Our troops are ready to respond to the call of duty of the region.”
The 11 countries don’t include Niger itself and the bloc’s three other countries under military rule following coups: Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso. The latter two have warned they would consider any intervention in Niger an act of war.
Musah indicated that Ecowas is not yet giving up on engaging with Niger’s coup leaders, who already have ignored a deadline to reinstate Bazoum and have not been receptive to negotiations on restoring his rule. Musah said an Ecowas delegation may visit Niger on Saturday to try to pursue further dialogue with the Niger junta.
“We can stand down the military option; it is not our preferred option. But we are obliged to do it because of the intransigence of the regime and the obstacles they’ve been putting in the way of a negotiated settlement,” Musah said.
