Niger Violence: West African Military Chiefs To Meet To Discuss Crisis On August 17, Says Report
The conference was initially slated for Saturday in Accra, but it was moved to this week as ECOWAS continues to engage with Niamey's military administration led by Abdourahmane Tchiani.
Military commanders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will meet in Ghana on Thursday and Friday to consider a possible military intervention in Niger, according to regional military and political sources, news agency Reuters reported. The conference was convened after the bloc's leaders approved the deployment of a "standby force to restore constitutional order" in Niger, where the military deposed the elected president on July 26.
The conference was initially slated for Saturday in Accra, but it was moved to this week as ECOWAS continues to engage with Niamey's military administration led by Abdourahmane Tchiani.
ECOWAS chiefs of state met in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, on last Thursday, and restated the bloc's desire for a diplomatic outcome.
The election of President Mohamed Bazoum in 2021 was a watershed moment in Niger's history, ushering in the first peaceful transition of power since the country's independence from France in 1960.
His demise sent shockwaves across West Africa, with military takeovers in Mali and Burkina Faso, both of which have struggled to contain armed groups like Niger.
On July 30, ECOWAS issued Niger's military authorities a one-week deadline to reinstall Bazoum or face the threat of force, but the time passed without action.
Given ECOWAS differences and local opposition, many believe military action would be both tactically and politically perilous.
Since the crisis began, Niger's military administration has delivered inconsistent messages.
The coup leaders indicated over the weekend that they were open to a diplomatic effort after Tchiani met with Nigerian religious mediators after two earlier sets of mediators were denied access to him.
On Sunday night, though, Niger's authorities stated that they had amassed enough evidence to charge Bazoum with "high treason and undermining internal and external security."
ECOWAS slammed the legal threat, saying it "represents yet another form of provocation and contradicts the reported willingness of the military authorities... to restore constitutional order through peaceful means," Al Jazzera reported. Washington expressed "extreme dismay."
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