The ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CDS) has promised to employ every tool at its disposal to help Niger return to constitutional order.
The deployment of the ECOWAS stand-by force in the Republic of Niger is the topic of a 2-day emergency meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defense Staff in Ghana.
The ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace, and security, Ambassador Abdul Musah, addressed the senior officers and explained that while the regional bloc is still open to diplomatic engagement with the Nigeran military junta, any further defiance on its part will result in a response aimed at defending its rules with its contingency.
President Mohamed Bazoum was detained by the presidential guard on July 26, 2023, and the guard’s commander, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, proclaimed himself the head of a new military junta.
The nation’s borders were sealed, public institutions were shut down, and a curfew was imposed by the presidential guard troops.
Since the nation’s separation from France in 1960, there have been five military coups d’état; this one was the first since 2010.
The military junta was threatened with military intervention by the West African regional grouping ECOWAS after the coup, which was roundly condemned by the world community.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com/Dominic Owusu Ansah