In order to put pressure on the new government, ECOWAS leaders claim they cannot accept another coup in their region and have already imposed sanctions on Niger.
The ECOWAS bloc of West Africa urged the coup leaders in Niger on Friday that it was “not too late” to change their minds as they argued about restoring civilian government with the use of force still “very much on the table”.
While the Economic Community of West African States urges the quick restoration of constitutional order, the generals who overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 have called for a three-year transition period.
As delegations stream into Niamey, ECOWAS asserts that negotiations are still a top priority while preparing a standby mission for any potential “legitimate use of force” to restore democracy, should that be necessary.
The Niger coup has increased tensions in the Sahel, where jihadists have gained control of large areas of land and three previous governments have been overthrown by military uprisings since 2020.
In order to put pressure on the new government, ECOWAS leaders claim they cannot accept another coup in their region and have already imposed sanctions on Niger.
“Even now, it is not too late for the military to reconsider its course of action and listen to the voice of reason as the regional leaders will not condone a coup d’etat,” ECOWAS commission president Omar Alieu Touray told reporters in Abuja.
The community’s resolve to stop the upswing in coup d’etats in the area is the underlying problem, according to the community.
Leaders of ECOWAS are currently in talks with military governments in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea that are all attempting to make the transition to democracy following their own coups.
The new leaders of Niger have declared that they are still open to talks after initially hesitating, but they have delivered conflicting signals, including a threat to accuse Bazoum of treason.
Since the coup, Bazoum has been held in custody at the government mansion along with his family.
Aggression
ECOWAS is allegedly planning an occupying force in collusion with an unnamed foreign nation, according to the military leaders of Niger, who have also cautioned against any interference.
On Thursday, the Niger’s government agreed to allow troops from the adjacent Mali and Burkina Faso regimes to enter its territory in the event of an invasion.
Touray, however, rejected ideas of ECOWAS “declaring war” or a “invasion” of Niger, arguing that the standby mission would be a legal force within the members’ agreed-upon ECOWAS statures.
“The tools include the application of force. Therefore, that is very much a possibility, just like other policies we are developing, he added.
If peaceful efforts are unsuccessful, ECOWAS cannot simply give up.
ECOWAS has used force to intervene in crises in the past, including civil conflicts. The new standby force’s details are scant.
However, making preparations for the potential use of military force in Niger is dangerous, and northern Nigeria, a significant participant in ECOWAS and the region, is already expressing political opposition.
Algeria, Niger’s neighbour to the north, has also issued a dire warning against any action in the area.
This week, Algeria’s foreign minister Ahmed Attaf visited several West African nations in an effort to find a diplomatic solution to the problem because Algiers is adamantly opposed to using force.
He stated during a visit to Benin that “there is a time for everything and we are currently in the time of finding peaceful solutions.”
“Let’s use all of our imagination to give a political solution every chance.”
