The West African community of states continues to strive for a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Niger. But the threat of military action against the putschists remains on the table.
The military chiefs of the West African community of states Ecowas continue to work on a plan for a military operation against the putschists in Niger. The defense chiefs of 9 of the 15 member countries met for a two-day meeting in Ghana’s capital Accra.
“Activation of the Ecowas stand-by force to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger has begun” and the military chiefs should now finalize the plans, the state union announced before the start of the meeting.
Ecowas Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdel-Fatau Musah accused the Niger junta of playing a cat-and-mouse game with Ecowas.
Putschists block all diplomatic efforts
The military, which took power in the West African country on the edge of the Sahara on July 26, has declared itself willing to talk, but has so far blocked all Ecowas diplomatic efforts. Ecowas is demanding the reinstatement of the constitution and the ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who is under house arrest.
“They should remember that they have violated their country’s constitution as well as the Ecowas statutes, which stipulate zero tolerance for military coups,” Musah said at the opening of the meeting on Thursday. Responding to questions from journalists, the Ecowas commissioner said diplomacy remains on the table. However, Ecowas has sufficient resources to carry out a military operation. Musah said there that all member states except those governed by the military and Cape Verde were willing to participate. A schedule for a possible deployment is secret.
Lots of open questions
In fact, there are still many unanswered questions when it comes to deployment. Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Benin and Guinea-Bissau have so far publicly announced that they would take part in an intervention. The member states of Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, who were themselves suspended after military coups, want to provide military support to the coup plotters in Niger. The small island nation of Cape Verde had declined to participate.
Other states have so far held back with public statements. In several countries – including Nigeria, which would provide a large part of the troops in the event of an operation due to its strength – the parliament would first have to approve an operation. But that is definitely questionable. In Nigeria, the Senate has shown reluctance to a possible intervention against the neighboring country, which is extremely unpopular with the population. In Ghana, too, where the defense minister emphasized in the opening speech of the meeting how important it is to stop military coups, parliament has so far blocked sending troops.
Germany supports solution to the crisis
The Foreign Office in Berlin said that Germany supports African efforts to solve the crisis in Niger. They support the two-pronged approach decided by the Ecowas heads of state, on the one hand to continue the mediation efforts and at the same time to activate the Ecowas standby force. “We support this Ecowas approach, in particular that the states want to exhaust all diplomatic means to achieve a solution to the crisis.” According to the information, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wants to introduce EU sanctions against the putschists.
Niger, a country with around 26 million inhabitants and one of the poorest populations in the world, was one of the last democratic partners of the USA and European states in the Sahel region on the southern edge of the Sahara before the coup. France and the US have important military bases in the country, which is also on a key migration route to Europe.
Source: Stern
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