2023-08-10 20:12:49
ECOWAS shows the muscles. As Niger’s military coup rule formed a government on Thursday, West African leaders moved to mobilize their armed force to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum at a crucial summit in Nigeria.
The organization ordered “the deployment of the ECOWAS standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger”, said ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray after the extraordinary summit. Even if the “peaceful” option is always preferred.
It is not immediately possible to determine what this deployment actually means for Niger. The President of Nigeria Bola Tinubu, at the head of ECOWAS, had affirmed before the reading of the resolutions, to hope “to reach a peaceful resolution”, adding: “all is not lost”. “No option is excluded, including the use of force as a last resort. If we don’t do it, no one else will do it for us,” he added.
The President of Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, reminded the press before his departure from the summit “that ECOWAS had intervened in the past in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau” when the constitutional order was threatened.
Dialogue impossible
“Today, Niger is experiencing a similar situation and I want to say that ECOWAS cannot accept it,” he added. “We have tried to dialogue with the putschists in Niger, we have sent delegations and high personalities (…) But they are keeping President Bazoum hostage”, he continued.
The coup government formed in Niamey is led by Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine and includes 20 ministers. Those of Defense and the Interior are generals of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland (CNSP) which took power, respectively General Salifou Mody and General Mohamed Toumba.
The announcement of its formation marks the foundation of the military regime since it overthrew Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, and appears as a sign of defiance towards the leaders of the Economic Community of East African States. West (ECOWAS) who began to meet on Thursday at midday.
All the presidents of the West African bloc made the trip
Negotiation with the military regime in Niger must be the “foundation of our approach”, said Thursday in Abuja the President of Nigeria Bola Tinubu, who holds the rotating presidency of ECOWAS, at the opening of the summit. The organization must engage “all relevant parties, including the perpetrators of the coup, in serious discussions in order to convince them to relinquish power and restore President Bazoum”, he continued.
All the presidents of the West African bloc made the trip to the Nigerian capital, except those of Gambia, Liberia and Cape Verde, who sent representatives. The presidents of Burundi and Mauritania, non-members of ECOWAS but invited by it, are also present.
The threat of military intervention had already been brandished on July 30 at a previous ECOWAS summit: a seven-day ultimatum had been issued to the soldiers in Niamey to restore President Bazoum, under penalty of armed intervention. But nothing happened when it expired on Sunday.
Aborted negotiations
Since then, the new masters of Niger have seemed closed to attempts at negotiations by ECOWAS. On Tuesday again, a joint delegation of ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations tried to go to Niamey. In vain, the putschists blocked their way, citing “security” reasons.
On the sidelines of these diplomatic attempts, the chiefs of staff of ECOWAS met last Friday in Abuja, where they defined the contours of a possible military intervention. For their part, Mali and Burkina Faso showed their solidarity with the soldiers of Niger. They claimed that if the country was attacked by ECOWAS, it would be “a declaration of war” for them.
On Tuesday, they sent joint letters to the UN and the AU calling for their “responsibility” to prevent “any military intervention against Niger, the extent of the security and humanitarian consequences of which would be unpredictable”.
#Niger #ECOWAS #mobilizes #military #force #restore #constitutional #order #country