Breaking News: ECOWAS to deploy ‘standby force’ against Niger

Leaders of the West African Ecowas bloc said Thursday they would deploy a “standby force” against the military leaders who seized control of Niger two weeks ago.

The bloc’s Commission President Omar Touray said after an emergency summit in Nigeria that members had decided “to order the deployment of the Ecowas standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger”.

The details of an eventual deployment and its impact on Niger were not immediately clear.

Ahead of the closed-door summit talks, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu had insisted that “we prioritise diplomatic negotiations and dialogue” for ending the crisis in Niger.

“All is not lost yet” for a “peaceful solution, as a roadmap to restore democracy and stability,” Tinubu said after the meeting.

But he added: “No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort”.

“If we don’t do it, no one else will do it for us.”

Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara told journalists before leaving the summit that Ecowas “has intervened in the past, in Liberia, in Sierra Leone, in Gambia and Guinea-Bissau” when constitutional order in the countries was threatened.

“Today we have a similar situation in Niger, and I like to say that Ecowas cannot accept this,” he said, adding that he hoped the decision to deploy the force “will be implemented immediately”. (AFP) Breaking News: ECOWAS orders defence chiefs on standby for military action in Niger

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has placed defence chiefs in member states on standby for potential military action in the Niger Republic, following the military coup that saw the ousting of President Mohamed Bazoum.

The decision was made at an extraordinary meeting of ECOWAS leaders in Abuja, Nigeria, on Thursday. The meeting was called to discuss the crisis in Niger and to formulate a response.

ECOWAS Chair President Omar Alieu Touray said that the bloc had decided to activate its standby force in response to the coup leader’s defiance of its 7-day ultimatum to restore constitutional order.“We have decided to activate the ECOWAS standby force with all its elements immediately,” Touray said. “We have also ordered the deployment of the force to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.”

Touray stressed that ECOWAS remained committed to resolving the crisis in Niger through peaceful means, but said that military intervention was a possibility if the coup leaders did not comply with the bloc’s demands.

The force, which is called the ECOWAS Standby Force (ESF), is headquartered in Nigeria and Senegal. It has a command element of 300 troops, and it can be deployed within 7 to 10 days of a crisis.

The ECOWAS-Standby Force is meant to be a Rapidly-Deployable Military Force which consists of between 6,500 and 10,000 Troops

The ESF is funded by ECOWAS member states, but it also receives foreign support from the United States and France.

Credit: AFP