The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has placed defence chiefs in member states on standby for potential military action in the Niger Republic, following the ongoing military coup that saw the ousting of President Mohamed Bazoum.
The decision was made at an extraordinary meeting of ECOWAS leaders in Abuja, Nigeria, on Thursday. The meeting was called to discuss the crisis in Niger and to formulate a response.
ECOWAS Chair President Omar Alieu Touray said that the bloc had decided to activate its standby force in response to the coup leader’s defiance of its 7-day ultimatum to restore constitutional order.
“We have decided to activate the ECOWAS standby force with all its elements immediately,” Touray said. “We have also ordered the deployment of the force to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.”
Touray stressed that ECOWAS remained committed to resolving the crisis in Niger through peaceful means, but said that military intervention was a possibility if the coup leaders did not comply with the bloc’s demands.
The force, which is called the ECOWAS Standby Force (ESF), is headquartered in Nigeria and Senegal. It has a command element of 300 troops, and it can be deployed within 7 to 10 days of a crisis.
The ECOWAS-Standby Force is meant to be a Rapidly-Deployable Military Force which consists of between 6,500 and 10,000 Troops
The ESF is funded by ECOWAS member states, but it also receives foreign support from the United States and France.
