West African leaders finalise plan for military intervention in Niger

West Africa's regional bloc has said its military chiefs agreed on a plan for a possible intervention in Niger after the junta failed to restore civilian rule there following last week's coup.

Military chiefs from The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were meeting in Nigeria's capital Abuja on Friday to discuss ways to respond to the crisis, the latest of several coups to hit Africa's Sahel region since 2020.

"All the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out," ECOWAS commissioner Abdel Fatau Musah said after the talks finished.

These included "the resources needed, and including the how and when we are going to deploy the force", he added.

"We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message clearly transmitted to them (the junta) that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done," Musah said.

Musah did not say whether ECOWAS would deploy such a force at the end of the one-week deadline given to the junta but added that the junta should reinstate Mohamed Bazoum as president in the coming days or “we will make them handover to the civilians authorities.”

Nigerian chief of defence staff asked the regional military chiefs to follow “a sense of urgency” and allocate the necessary resources as they had agreed.

“ECOWAS will not be used for coups. Democracy is what we stand for and democracy is what we will sustain,” said Nigerian Defence Chief Christopher Musa. He called for action to also address security lapses in West Africa, saying the latest mutiny highlights “the fragility of our region."

The bloc has already imposed trade and financial sanctions on the junta, with key electricity supplier Nigeria cutting its deliveries. In response, the junta has warned it would meet force with force.

Nationwide protests

ECOWAS on Sunday gave the junta that toppled elected president Bazoum in a July 26 coup one week to reinstate him or face the potential use of force.

An ECOWAS delegation arrived in Niger's capital Niamey on Thursday but did not stay overnight as scheduled. It did not meet with Bazoum or coup leader Abdourahamane Tiani, a delegation member said on Friday.

On Friday, there were sporadic rallies both for and against the coup. Around 100 people from several West African nations rallied in Niamey to protest against any potential military intervention.

But in the western town of Tahoua, several hundred people gathered to show support for Bazoum and demand his unconditional release, one local journalist reported.

Also on Friday, the junta announced it was scrapping military pacts between Niger and France, citing the former colonial ruler's "careless attitude and its reaction to the situation".

Meanwhile, Washington is suspending some aid programmes to the Niger government, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said without giving details.

Niger has played a key part in Western strategies to combat a militant insurgency that has plagued the Sahel since 2012, with France and the United States stationing around 1,500 and 1,000 troops in the country, respectively.

In a sign of a partial return to normality, the junta on Friday lifted a curfew in force since the takeover.