West African Militaries Convene for Niger Intervention Talks
In Accra, the capital of Ghana, where they have been hashing out the specifics of a possible military intervention in Niger if diplomacy fails to reverse a military coup, West African army commanders were scheduled to hold a second and final day of discussions on Friday. The negotiations were scheduled to take place in Accra.
On July 26, military commanders in Niger removed President Mohamed Bazoum and refused to reinstate him, despite appeals to do so from the United Nations, the West African bloc ECOWAS, and others. As a result, regional powers have ordered the assembly of a standby force in preparation for further action.
According to the official timetable, defense chiefs have been debating logistics and other issues of a potential deployment throughout their two-day meeting, which will conclude with a closing ceremony at approximately 1600 GMT. The meeting will end on Tuesday.
The use of force is still considered to be a last choice; but, “if everything else fails, the valiant forces of West Africa… are ready to answer to the call of duty,” Abdel-Fatau Musah, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, stated at the beginning of the event on Thursday that the use of force is prepared to be used “if everything else fails.”
He stated that the majority of the organization’s 15 member states were ready to take part in the standby force, except the three countries that are now operating under military rule (Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea) as well as the small nation of Cape Verde.
Any escalation will further destabilize the already unstable Sahel region of West Africa, which is already fighting an Islamist insurgency that has been going on for ten years.
Because of its uranium and oil riches, as well as its role as a hub for international soldiers engaged in the conflict against militants affiliated with al Qaeda and Islamic State, Niger has strategic relevance that extends beyond the borders of West Africa.
West African Militaries Convene for Niger Intervention Talks
