ECOWAS has issued an ultimatum to the military government in Niger, warning of military intervention if the generals who carried out the coup do not restore power to President Bazoum.
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| Overview of the meeting of the Economic Community of West African States Defense Chiefs Committee on Niger in Abuja, Nigeria on August 2. Photo: AFP/VNA |
On August 15, informed sources said that military commanders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) plan to meet in Ghana on August 17-18 to discuss the possibility of military intervention in Niger.
The meeting was originally scheduled for August 12 but was later postponed indefinitely due to “technical reasons.”
The meeting comes after ECOWAS leaders last week approved the deployment of a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger following the July 26 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
The ECOWAS summit, held in the Nigerian capital Abuja on August 10, also reaffirmed the bloc's desire for a diplomatic solution.
The 2021 presidential election in Niger that resulted in the victory of Mohamed Bazoum is seen as a landmark event, ushering in the West African country's first peaceful transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960.
President Bazoum's overthrow sent shockwaves across West Africa, where Mali and Burkina Faso also experienced coups and military takeovers.
ECOWAS has issued an ultimatum to the military government in Niger, warning of military intervention if the generals who carried out the coup do not restore power to President Bazoum by August 6.
However, the deadline for this ultimatum has passed and the coup leaders in Niger have so far been unwilling to engage in negotiations promoted by the international community.
Analysts say ECOWAS's military intervention in Niger will affect the bloc's operations as well as cause political instability due to internal divisions.
In a related development on August 15, the Kremlin said that in a phone call with the leader of the Malian military government, Assimi Goita, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a peaceful solution to the crisis.
The Kremlin stressed the importance of resolving the situation in Niger through peaceful political and diplomatic means.
On the same day, during a visit to West Africa, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said the coup in Niger "impedes and exacerbates complex development challenges in this country and beyond in the Sahel region."
On behalf of the Sahel Alliance, Mr. Schulze called for the immediate release of President Bazoum and the full restoration of constitutional order in Niger.
The coup in Niger is raising concerns that it could plunge West Africa into a spiral of instability. West Africa’s Sahel region is one of the world’s poorest and faces a persistent terrorist threat, so the region is at risk of further instability if the crisis in Niger worsens.
( According to https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tuong-linh-cua-ecowas-thao-luan-kha-nang-can-thiep-quan-su-vao-niger/889256.vnp )
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