ECOWAS orders ‘immediate activation’ of standby force in Niger
West African leaders on Thursday ramped up the rhetoric against Niger’s coup leaders, ordering the “activation” and the “deployment” of a regional standby force to restore constitutional order in the coup-hit country.Meeting in Abuja, Nigeria after the expiration of the one-week ultimatum they gave to the Niger’s military junta, leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) called for a deployment “to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger,” according to a statement read by Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission.It was not immediately clear what the “deployment” and “activation” of the force would entail. The statement also emphasized a “determination to keep all options on the table for the peaceful resolution of the crisis.”
Confusion and concern
Several analysts told CNN that a military intervention in Niger would probably not be imminent, as it takes time to assemble the ECOWAS troops.The communique is “about mobilizing the required resources should an intervention be needed, but it’s also a signal to the junta in Niger that ECOWAS is prepared to take necessary actions including force should talks fail,” Abuja-based defense and security analyst Murtala Abdullahi told CNN.The bloc did not give any timelines and Nigerian president Bola Tinubu who’s the current chair maintained that the use of force would be a last resort. However, the news could be received in more urgent terms in Niger, security analyst Abdourahamane Alkassoum told CNN, pointing out that the Nigerien military has been gaining support locally as ECOWAS continued to talk tough.Another expert recalled that it took 7 weeks for ECOWAS to deploy to Gambia in 2017 – a less complicated mission than Niger would be.“The mission to Gambia was much more straightforward,” says Cameron Hudson, a senior associate at the Center for the Strategic and International Studies. “Niger would not be just an intervention, it’s a hostage rescue of a president who is under house arrest and being used as a human shield by the junta.“Niger has a significant army trained by the US, battle-tested from years of a counterinsurgency,” he added.
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