The leaders of the Niger coup have now opened the door to negotiations, a few hours after the ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff finished planning for a military alternative.
On Saturday morning [August 19], General Abdusalami Salami returned to Niger on behalf of ECOWAS in a diplomatic maneuver.
On Friday, ECOWAS declared that troops from the region are prepared to enter Niger and reestablish democracy.
The West African sub-regional bloc claimed following a two-day meeting of the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff that there was political will among member states who were also prepared to contribute their own troops and equipment for the mission to restore democracy in Niger, where the presidential guard, a detachment of the military, overthrew the President, Mohamed Bazoum, on July 26, 2023.
The Commissioner in charge of Political Affairs, Peace and Security at the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Abdel-Fatau Musah, stated at a news conference at Burma Camp on Friday, “We are not going to Niger to wage war, rather we are going there to restore constitutional order.”
He emphasized that the equipment and resources needed for the mission have been committed by member governments throughout the region, and that “we are ready to go whenever the Heads of State give the order.”
Dr. Musah added that the forces in the region were prepared to answer the call to duty and that the Heads of State of the member states were pleased with the reports made by the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com