2023-08-11 09:40:01
At a special summit after the coup d’état in Niger, the countries of the Economic Community of West Africa (Ecowas) spoke out in favor of a diplomatic solution and at the same time announced the immediate activation of an “Ecowas stand-by force with all elements”. In its final declaration presented late Thursday evening, the community also warned member states not to take direct or indirect steps to obstruct a “peaceful solution to the crisis”. Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea announced last week that they would support the coup. In addition, Mali and Burkina Faso announced in a joint statement that they would understand a military intervention as a declaration of war on their own states.
Claudia Bröll
Political correspondent for Africa based in Cape Town.
However, the Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara announced after his return to Abidjan, according to the AFP news agency, that an “intervention force” would be sent. The economic community has agreed to military intervention in Niger as soon as possible. The President of the Ecowas Commission, Omar Touray, also said that a task force should “restore the constitutional order in Niger”. The details of the posting and its impact on Niger initially remained unclear.
At the beginning of the summit, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu emphasized “diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the basis of our approach”. After the closed-door meeting, he said “all is not lost” for a “peaceful solution as a roadmap to restore democracy and stability.” However, “no option is off the table”, not even “the use of force as a last resort”. “If we don’t do it, nobody else will do it for us,” Nigeria’s President warned.
The final declaration only said that “all options for a peaceful solution to the crisis” remained “on the table”. Eight heads of state and government from the 15 Ecowas countries were represented at the summit, as well as three foreign ministers and an ambassador. Nigerien Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou represented President Mohamed Bazoum, who was still under arrest. The Presidents of Burundi and Mauritania, who are not ECOWAS members, also attended. The Africa representative of the Federal Foreign Office, Christoph Retzlaff, was represented as an observer.
The final statement also noted that all Ecowas diplomatic efforts to date have been “defiantly rebuffed” by military leaders in Niger. Ecowas continued to strongly condemn the coup and the illegal detention of Bazoum, his family and members of his government. All sanctions and steps decided at the first extraordinary summit remained in effect, most notably the closure of borders and a strict travel ban. The assets of individuals or groups who obstructed peaceful resolution remained frozen until constitutional order was fully restored.
Claudia Bröll, Cape Town Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 1 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2 Claudia Bröll, Cape Town Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 7
France and the United States said they support the decisions of the Ecowas summit. According to AFP, the French Foreign Ministry also supported the decision to send an “intervention force” to Niger.
Shortly before the special summit, the new rulers appointed members of a new government led by Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres had expressed concern at the poor conditions in which the Nigerien President was reportedly being held. These conditions were also expressly condemned by Ecowas in the final declaration. Members of Bazoum’s presidential guard arrested the president two weeks ago and then announced the overthrow of the government in Niger.
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