West African bloc Ecowas says military intervention in Niger is 'last resort'
A military intervention in Niger following last week's coup is "the last option on the table", the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has said.
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Ecowas defence chiefs are meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja between 2 and 4 August.
The bloc confirmed it had sent a delegation to Niger to negotiate with the coup leaders who seized power last week.
Nigeria, West Africa's largest military and economic power, is the current chair of Ecowas.
The group said on Wednesday that even if military intervention is the last option, the organisation must be ready.
"[A] military option is the very last option on the table, the last resort, but we have to prepare for [that] eventuality," Abdel-Fatau Musah, Ecowas commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, said.
#Niger: "The military option is the very last option on the table, the last resort, but we have to prepare for the eventuality," said Abdel-Fatau Musah, #ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security. https://t.co/qG5SM0Vkh7
— Thierno Diallo🇬🇳 (@cireass) August 2, 2023
The Ecowas team in Niger is headed by former Nigerian leader Abdulsalami Abubakar and is there to "negotiate", added Musah.
Ecowas leaders still hope to reinstate Niger's president Mohamed Bazoum, 63, who won elections in 2021 in the country's first-ever peaceful transition of power.
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He was overthrown on 26 July when members of his own guard detained him.
Niger military's head, General Abdourahamane Tiani, has declared himself leader, but his claim has been condemned internationally.
Sanctions and pressure
Meanwhile, Nigeria cut electricity supplies to Niger to intensify pressure on the country's coup leaders on Tuesday.
An unidentified source confirmed the move an an interview with the French news agency AFP.
"Since yesterday, Nigeria has disconnected the high-voltage line transporting electricity to Niger," the source at Nigelec, the country's monopoly supplier, said.
Niger is one of the world's poorest countries, and depends on Nigeria for 70 percent of its power, buying it from the Nigerian company Mainstream, according to Nigelec.
The leaders of Ecowas imposed trade and financial sanctions on Sunday, and gave the coup leaders a week to reinstate Niger's democratically elected president or face the potential use of force.
Nigeria's recently elected president, Bola Tinubu has vowed to take a firm line against coups that have proliferated across the region since 2020, most of them the outcome of jihadist insurgencies.
Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso
Meanwhile, General Salifou Mody, one of the Niger coup leaders, arrived with a delegation in Mali's capital Bamako on Wednesday.
Junta-ruled Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso warned that any military intervention in Niger would be tantamount to a "declaration of war".
Niger has endured four different coups since gaining independence from France in 1960.
(with newswires)
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