The latest in a series of military coups in West Africa has led to fears of broader regional conflict, with a major political bloc in the region threatening military intervention in Niger unless the elected government is restored.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said Friday that it was prepared for military action and that it had decided on a “D-Day” for intervention in Niger, where a junta led by Niger’s presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.
Efforts at mediation have so far failed, with Niger missing an ECOWAS-installed deadline of restoring Bazoum to office within a week and the bloc rejecting a junta proposal to return to democracy in three years.
“All we are saying is that we are not going to engage in endless dialogue,” said Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS’s commissioner for political affairs, peace and security. “It must be fruitful, and its objective must be the restoration of constitutional order” as quickly as possible.
The situation is complicated by the fact that three other members of the 15-member ECOWAS are suspended because they have had their own military coups in recent years. These countries — Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, all former French colonies in the Sahel — have indicated they may side with Niger’s military government in the event of a war.
The situation is a major test of the political will and organizational capability of ECOWAS, one of the most important organizations in Africa. It comes as major Western powers like France and the United States have stepped back from the region, while the Russian mercenary Wagner Group has allied with some military governments.