ECOWAS sets 'D-Day' for Niger intervention

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
19 Aug 2023 00:05
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ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdel-Fatau Musah announces that the bloc still prefers to find a diplomatic solution, but if push comes to shove, an intervention plan is ready to go.

ECOWAS commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah, centre, speaks during a press briefing following the Extraordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of the Defence Staff, in Accra, Ghana, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. (AP)

The Economic Community of West African States (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.

Musah, following the conclusion of the two-day meeting of West African ECOWAS army chiefs in Accra, Ghana, said, "We are ready to go anytime the order is given," adding that "The D-Day is also decided."

The commissioner said, "We've already agreed and fine-tuned what will be required for the intervention," while emphasizing that peaceful engagement remains a possibility given that he said that "As we speak, we are still readying (a) mediation mission into the country, so we have not shut any door."

An ECOWAS official confirmed that out of the 15 ECOWAS member states, only Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, and tiny Cape Verde have refused to engage in any possible upcoming intervention in Niger.

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.

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 African 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 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.

For more than ten years, insurgents have plagued Africa's Sahel area. They first appeared in northern Mali in 2012 before moving to nearby Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015.

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.

All of these nations, which are ECOWAS members, have since seen military coups, partly as a result of rising resentment over the failure of the government to stop the slaughter.