The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has, on Wednesday, sent a delegation to Niger to negotiate with the military officers who seized power in last week’s coup, as regional defence chiefs met in neighbouring Nigeria.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had on Sunday imposed sanctions on Niger and said it could authorise the use of force if the coup leaders do not reinstate elected President Mohamed Bazoum within a week from last Sunday.
“The military option is the very last option on the table, the last resort, but we have to prepare for the eventuality,”
According to Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security: “There is a need to demonstrate that we cannot only bark but can bite,” he told reporters in Abuja.
“The delegation to Niger is being led by former Nigerian military leader Abdulsalami Abubakar, who arrived on Wednesday to start talks with the junta”, Musah said.
The junta in Niger is led by the former head of Bazoum’s presidential guard, General Abdourahmane Tiani, who shut Bazoum in his palace last Wednesday and later declared himself head of state.
ECOWAS has struggled to contain a democratic backslide in West Africa, as member states Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea have also seen coups in the last two years, along with an attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau.
The regional bloc has taken its hardest line yet on Niger, prompting Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by juntas, to say that any intervention in Niger would be considered a declaration of war against them too.
Niger is a key Western ally in a fight against Islamist insurgents, and the coup has been condemned by foreign powers who fear it could allow the militants to gain ground.
“The UK very much welcomes ECOWAS’ actions and (they) are indeed decisive actions with a strong commitment to democracy,” said British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly after meeting Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in Abuja on Wednesday.
The coup leaders announced overnight they had reopened Niger’s land and air borders with Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Libya and Chad after closing them last week.
The reopened land borders are mainly in remote desert areas. Niger’s key entryways for trade and commerce remain closed due to sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.
