ECOWAS leaders agree plan for military action after Niger coup as deadline approaches
ECOWAS leaders agree plan for military action after Niger coup as deadline approaches
Leaders of the bloc of West African states known as ECOWAS have agreed on a plan for military intervention in Niger unless coup leaders restore civilian rule by Sunday.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The Economic Community of West African States, known as ECOWAS, met in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Friday.
"We are determined to stop it, but ECOWAS is not going to tell the coup plotters when and where we are going to strike," explained Abdel-Fatau Musah, the bloc's Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security.
Last Sunday, ECOWAS gave the military junta that toppled elected president Mohamed Bazoum in a July 26 coup, one week to restore him or face the potential use of force.
Niger's junta has vowed to respond "immediately" to any foreign intervention and has been holding Bazoum and his family in his official residence in the capital Niamey for nine days.
The military-ruled governments in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso have said intervention in Niger would be tantamount to a declaration of war against them.
Nigeria, which currently chairs ECOWAS, is taking a hard line against coup plotters after the putsch in Niger, the latest to hit Africa's Sahel region since 2020.
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