Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two were martyred in an initial toll of the Israeli drone strike that targeted the al-Asira neighborhood in the city of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli drone strike targeted the al-Asira neighborhood east of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are the greatest resistance. Know that 'Israel' will fall because it embodies aggression, crime, and occupation; victory is truly yours
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: The value of what you are doing despite your wounds is immense, and here you are, treading the path of the Master of Nation's Martyrs and the leaders
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are moving forward with insight deeper than sight itself. The enemy sought to eliminate your role in the battle, yet you remain steadfast and continue the fight
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors one year later: You are healing from your wounds and rising above them. You have successfully passed the test
Palestinian media: Reports of stabbing operation in occupied al-Quds.
Israeli media: Sirens blare in Arava in South, near Ramon Airport.
Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouli: Egypt is targeted in plans to redraw regional map
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: Our presence in IAEA General Council and fact-checking helped in preventing unilateral rhetoric that aims to portray Iran as an unregulated country

ECOWAS delegation arrives in Niger for talks

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 19 Aug 2023 19:36
  • 1 Shares
3 Min Read

ECOWAS military commanders have declared their readiness to act to restore the deposed president.

  • x
  •  West African mission reaches Niger for talks
    Supporters of Niger's junta gather to a protest to push back against foreign interference in Niamey, Niger, on August 3, 2023. (AP)

A group from West Africa's ECOWAS bloc arrived in Niger on Saturday, seeking a diplomatic rather than military solution to the ousting of Niger's former president by the military junta that also enjoys popular support.

The group, led by former Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar, arrived a day after ECOWAS military commanders declared their readiness to act to restore the deposed president.

ECOWAS announced that it had agreed on a 'D-Day' for the possible military intervention in Niger, aimed at allegedly "restoring democracy" in Niger, according to the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdel-Fatau Musah.

It is worth noting that the Accra conference, which was originally scheduled for last weekend, was summoned to go through the specifics of the standby military force that ECOWAS authorized when a deadline to release Bazoum and reestablish democracy passed.

According to a source close to Saturday's trip, the delegation will give "a message of firmness" to army leaders and meet with Bazoum.

According to an EU official, ECOWAS head and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu threatened Niamey on Friday with "grave consequences" if the new leadership permits Bazoum's health to deteriorate.

Burkina Faso's Defense Minister Kassoum Coulibaly told Sputnik on Saturday that the country is preparing for a possible military intervention in Niger and is readying to support it. 

Read more: 17 Nigerien soldiers dead in militant ambush near Burkina Faso

"We anticipate aggression [of ECOWAS forces against Niger]. In any case, the head of our state [Ibrahim Traore] said that we are ready for the aggression, we support Niger," Coulibaly expressed, adding that his country is even willing to withdraw from ECOWAS considering the association's policy towards Niger as unreasonable.  

Related News

Ghanaian defense, environment ministers killed in helicopter crash

Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso officially exit ECOWAS

Coulibaly suggested that members of ECOWAS should refrain from waging wars against one another. 

Niger has announced it would open military recruitment centers for volunteers in an effort to amp up the army ahead of a possible intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in light of the ongoing coup. 

Tens of thousands of volunteers across Niger are expected by recruiters to join combat units alongside the Nigerien armed forces' medical, technical, and engineering logistics units.  

Turmoil within the Union

Despite the aggressive language, a number of important nations that have pledged to contribute forces -- including Nigeria and Ghana -- are encountering domestic political resistance to the proposed operation.

The senate of Nigeria has voiced resistance, and the opposition parties in Ghana have questioned the constitutionality of any military action.

The African Union is another obstacle. The Union's peace and security council held discussions about the Niger crisis on Monday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

A diplomat who spoke to French media at the time indicated that southern and northern African countries were "fiercely against any military intervention" and that the proposed ECOWAS action had been rejected after a "difficult" discussion.

A fracture in the area between its coastal nations and those in the unstable Sahel was revealed by Burkina Faso and Mali, who warned that any military action in Niger would be deemed an act of war.

Guinea, which is also run by the military and has denounced all acts of aggression from abroad, has been silent.

  • ECOWAS
  • Niger
  • Mohamed Bazoum
  • Niger Coup
  • Africa

Most Read

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025
Why is Choose Love using a firm with British and US intelligence connections to run a pro-Palestine musical event? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Together for Palestine: Troubling questions about the organisers of this huge event

  • Opinion
  • 17 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A Hezbollah supporter who lost his sight in a pager attack carried out by "Israel" on Sept. 17, 2024, covers his eyes with a red headband inscribed with the name "Hussein" during Ashoura, July 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'We Have Recovered': Lebanon marks 1st anniversary of Pager Attack

The Arab neighborhood of El Za'im, on the outskirts of east Occupied Al-Quds in the West Bank, near where Israeli government says housing units will be built as part of the E1 settlement project, Thursday, August 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestine

'Israel’s' deliberate policies drive West Bank economy toward collapse

Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Politics

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder resigns over parent company curbing activism

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll
US & Canada

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS