Most of the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are committed to participating in a possible military intervention to restore constitutional order in Niger, the bloc’s Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdel Fatau, said on Thursday. Musah.
“All countries except those under a military government (Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea-Conarki) and one small country (Cape Verde) (…) are determined” to participate in an eventual intervention, Musah told reporters. .
The commissioner launched this message on the sidelines of the meeting of chiefs of staff of the ECOWAS countries that began this Thursday in the capital of Ghana, Accra.
This is the second meeting of this type in which the military chiefs of the regional bloc will continue to analyze and draw up a plan for the possible use of force to resolve the crisis in Niger after the coup d’état on July 26.
“There comes a time when you have to set the limit. Because we have not had three successful hits (in the region) and the fact that a powerful response was not applied does not mean that we should allow the domino to continue,” Musah stressed.
The meeting in Accra takes place after the heads of State and Government of ECOWAS – a bloc made up of fifteen countries – ordered on August 10 to “activate” the “reserve force” of the organization, although they also assured to continue betting for dialogue to resolve the crisis.
The chiefs of staff of Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo, Benin, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia participate in the meeting. Their counterparts from Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau have not been able to attend.
