After the coup d'état in Niger, the failure of negotiations with the new military leadership resulted in the international isolation of the last major security partner of Washington and its allies in the Sahel region.
The defense leadership of the member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) finalized their military intervention plan in Niger on Friday and called for the mobilization of the armies of the member countries, after negotiations stalled with Niger's military junta, which this week terminated its military agreements with its former colonial holder, France.
ECOWAS has set a Sunday deadline for the release and reinstatement of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, who is under house arrest, or face military intervention by the junta.
Niger's military leadership, which staged a coup last Wednesday, announced on Friday that it had sacked some of the previous government's key ambassadors and warned Nigeriens to be alert to the emergence of foreign armies and spies.
In an opinion piece published in the US daily The Washington Post, Bazoum issued a plea for help, stating: "I am writing this article as a hostage" and asking for help from the United States and its partners.
After the coup d'état in Niger, the failure of negotiations with the new military leadership resulted in the international isolation of the last major security partner of Washington and its allies in the Sahel region.
Global terror
Extremist Islamist organizations have made the vast region south of the Sahara the new center of global terrorism in recent years.
During Thursday's negotiations, the delegates of the ECOWAS member states were unable to meet with General Abdourahamane Tiani, the leader of the coup, and did not enter the Niger capital, Niamey.
The defense and military leadership of the 15-nation ECOWAS member states, with the exception of Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea and Niger, met on Friday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and several possible measures were adopted, among others the military intervention in Niger, which the leaders of the region was accepted as a recommendation for
"All the details of possible military intervention have been discussed and clarified, including timing, resources needed, and where, when and how we will deploy military force"
said Abdel-Fatau Musza, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security.
Musa did not mention that ECOWAS would launch a military attack after the deadline on Sunday, but added that the Nigerien junta must restore Bazoum to his presidency within days, otherwise "we will hand over the military leadership to the civilian authorities," he said.
General Christopher Musa, Nigeria's Chief of Staff, asked the military leaders of countries in the region to order a "mobilization" and provide their armies with all the necessary resources as agreed.
Featured image: AFP
