Members of the Armed Forces of Senegal talk about on the sidelines of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Head of States and Government session in Abuja on August 10 (AFP)
West African military chiefs will meet on Thursday in Ghana’s capital Accra to debate a doable navy intervention in Niger if diplomacy fails to reverse a navy coup.
Members of Niger’s presidential guard, headed by General Abdourahmane Tiani, seized energy final month, drawing condemnation from world powers and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which determined final week to assemble a standby navy power.
The ECOWAS military chiefs’ assembly will begin on the headquarters of Ghana’s armed forces round 0900 GMT on Thursday and finish on Friday afternoon.
Niger’s junta has mentioned it’s open to talks to resolve the scenario. But it’s nonetheless detaining deposed President Mohamed Bazoum and has mentioned it would prosecute him for prime treason, which has been considered as an indication it’s unwilling to hunt a peaceable route out of the disaster.
The African Union, the European Union, the US and the UN have all mentioned they’re nervous about Bazoum’s detention circumstances.
Any navy intervention might additional destabilise the impoverished Sahel area, the place an insurgency by teams linked to al Qaeda and IS has displaced tens of millions over the previous decade and fuelled a starvation disaster.
US, French, German and Italian troops are primarily based in Niger as a part of worldwide efforts to fight the insurgency. The nation additionally has strategic significance to world powers attributable to its uranium and oil deposits.
