UPDATE: ECOWAS DELEGATION ARRIVES COUP-HIT NIGER REPUBLIC
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Agency Report
According to AFP, sources close to ECOWAS and ousted President Mohamed Bazoum say a delegation from the West African organization arrived in Niger on Saturday for discussions with the military officers who have taken control.
Following the overthrow and detention of Bazoum by generals on July 26, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has decided to mobilize a “standby force” as a last resort to restore democracy in Niger.
But it asserts that it supports communication to diffuse the crisis.
A day after the military commanders of the bloc declared they were prepared to intervene to reinstate Bazoum, a plane carrying the delegation made its landing in the nation’s capital, Niamey, at around 1:00 p.m. (1200 GMT).
The ECOWAS delegation, led by former Nigerian president Abdulsalami Abubakar, arrived in Niger, according to the country’s ruling military council.
An earlier ECOWAS mission headed by Abubakar attempted to meet Bazoum and the coup leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani, earlier this month but was unsuccessful.
According to a source close to the most recent delegation, it will see Bazoum and deliver “a message of firmness” to the army officers.
ECOWAS defense officials convened last week in Accra, Ghana, to finalize plans for a future military action to retake Bazoum if continuing talks with the coup leaders fall down.
“We are ready to go any time the order is given,” Abdel-Fatau Musah, an ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs and security, said on Friday after the military chiefs’ meeting.
“The D-Day is also decided.”
Following Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso as the other three West African countries to undergo a coup since 2020, ECOWAS officials claim they must take action.
Growing jihadist insurgencies affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization are causing problems in the Sahel region. The military takeovers have been partly motivated by frustration with the violence.
Since 1990, ECOWAS forces have intervened in various crises, such as the Liberian and Sierra Leonean civil wars. Nigeria, Benin, and Ivory Coast are anticipated to send troops to assist with a mission in Niger.
AFP
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