Army chiefs of some West African states are meeting at Burma Camp today, Thursday August 17 to decide on a possible military intervention in Niger following the ousting President Mohammed Bazuom on July 27.
The meeting is aimed at finding strategies to restore constitutional order in Niger after the Military takeover.
Following the refusal of General Abdourahamane Tchiani to reinstate Mohamed Bazoum as President within the seven-day ultimatum given by ECOWAS, the West African Heads of State have decided to explore other options which include a stand-by force.
ECOWAS announced their intentions in a brief statement issued on Wednesday, August 16, 2023 as follows: “as a follow-up to the directive of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at its Extraordinary Summit on the political situation in the Republic of Niger held on 10th August 2023 in Abuja, Nigeria, the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CCDC) has commenced the activation of the ECOWAS Standby Force for the restoration of constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.”
“To this end, the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff will be having an extraordinary meeting in Accra, Ghana from 17th to 18th August 2023 to finalise plans for the deployment of the Standby Force.”
However, ECOWAS has condemned attacks by armed groups in Niger which have led to the death of several Nigerien soldiers.
ECOWAS in a statement bemoaned the various attacks on Nigerien soldiers by armed groups, calling for a return to constitutional rule to deal with the security situation in Niger.