ECOWAS intervention in Niger: 'We are ready to go any time the order is given'

West African military chiefs said on Friday (Aug. 18) they were ready for an armed intervention in Niger after a coup ousted President Mohamed Bazoum last month, but a diplomatic mission was possible over the weekend to keep talks open.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has agreed to activate a "standby force" as a last resort to restore democracy in Niger after generals toppled and detained Bazoum on July 26.

ECOWAS defence chiefs met this week in the Ghanaian capital Accra to fine tune details of a potential military operation to restore Bazoum if ongoing negotiations with coup leaders fail.

"We are ready to go any time the order is given," said Abdel-Fatau Musah, an ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs and security. "The D-Day is also decided."

But the leaders also say they still favoured dialogue, and that ECOWAS could send a diplomatic mission to Niger on Saturday (Aug. 19), Musah said.

"Tomorrow there is the possibility of an ECOWAS mission going into Niger to continue to pursue the peaceful path to restoration of constitutional order," he added.

“We can stand down the military option; it is not our preferred option. But we are obliged to do it because of the intransigence of the regime and the obstacles they’ve been putting in the way of a negotiated settlement,” Musah said.

ECOWAS leaders say they have to act after Niger became the fourth West African nation since 2020 to suffer a coup, following Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

The Sahel region is struggling with growing jihadist insurgencies linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State and frustration over the violence has in part prompted the military takeovers.

ECOWAS troops have intervened in other emergencies since 1990, including civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Ivory Coast, Benin and Nigeria are expected to contribute troops to a Niger mission.

'Grave consequences'

Bazoum, whose 2021 election was a landmark in Niger's troubled history, has been held with his family at the president's official residence since the July 26 coup, with growing international concern over his conditions in detention.

ECOWAS chair and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Friday (Aug. 18) threatened Niamey with "grave consequences" if the new regime allows Bazoum's health to worsen under house arrest, an EU official said.

During a call to EU chief Charles Michel, Tinubu noted: "President Bazoum's detention conditions are deteriorating."

"Any further deterioration to his well-being status will have grave consequences."

Michel had renewed the European Union's "full support and backing of ECOWAS' decisions, as well as firm condemnation of the unacceptable coup de force in Niger".

Analysts and locals say the coup was triggered by an internal struggle between Bazoum and the head of the presidential guard, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who says he's now in charge. Since then, the junta has been shoring up support among the population, exploiting grievances toward Niger's former colonial ruler, France, and silencing opposers.