The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have given the go-ahead for a military operation “to start as soon as possible” to restore constitutional order in Niger where soldiers have seized power two weeks ago.
“The chiefs of staff will have other conferences to finalize things, but they have the agreement of the conference of heads of state for the operation to start as soon as possible,” said Alassane Ouattara, the Ivorian President, in Abidjan, on his return from the Abuja summit.
Through Bola Tinubu, President of Nigeria and head of ECOWAS, the organization hopes to “reach a peaceful resolution”. “All is not lost,” he also asserted. And to do so, “no option is excluded, including the use of force as a last resort. If we don’t do it, no one else will do it for us.”
The President of Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, told the press before leaving the summit “that ECOWAS had intervened in the past in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau” when the constitutional order was threatened. “Today, Niger is experiencing a similar situation and I want to say that ECOWAS cannot accept it,” he added.
Alassane Ouattara clarified that Côte d’Ivoire “will provide a battalion” of 850 to 1,100 men, alongside Nigeria and Benin in particular, and that “other countries” will join them.
“We have tried to dialogue with the putschists in Niger, we have sent delegations and high personalities […] But they are keeping President Bazoum hostage”, he continued. But the putschists in power in Niamey had warned, as soon as a military intervention was mentioned, that they would respond to “any aggression” from ECOWAS.
France, for its part, gave “its full support to all the conclusions” of ECOWAS and reiterated “its firm condemnation of the attempted putsch in Niger, as well as the kidnapping of President (Mohamed) Bazoum and his family “. The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, declared to him that the United States supports “the leadership and the work of ECOWAS” for the “return to constitutional order”.
The West African bloc, however, does not rule out the diplomatic route to restore Mohamed Bazoum, the elected president overthrown on July 26, in office and detained since.
The threat of the use of force had been brandished for the first time on July 30 at a previous ECOWAS summit: a seven-day ultimatum had been issued to the soldiers of Niamey to restore President Bazoum, under penalty of armed intervention. But nothing happened when it expired on Sunday.
Since then, the new masters of Niger have seemed closed to attempts at negotiations by ECOWAS. On Tuesday, a joint delegation of ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations tried to go to Niamey. In vain, the soldiers blocked their way, citing “security” reasons. In the night from Wednesday to Thursday, the authors of the coup d’état also announced the formation of a new government, hours before the start of the Abuja summit.
The government formed in Niamey is led by a civilian prime minister, economist Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, and includes 20 ministers. Those of Defense and the Interior are generals of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland (CNSP) which took power, respectively General Salifou Mody and General Mohamed Toumba.
The announcement of its formation confirms the determination of the military regime that overthrew Mohamed Bazoum, and appears as a sign of defiance towards the leaders of ECOWAS. But not all West African countries are hostile to the new power in Niger: neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by soldiers, have shown their solidarity with Niamey. They even claimed that if the country was attacked by ECOWAS, it would be “a declaration of war” for them.
