ECOWAS delegation arrives Niger for dialogue
A delegation from the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) has arrived in Niger for talks with the military officers who
seized power and ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
The ECOWAS delegation is headed by former Nigerian leader
Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Niger’s governing military council has also confirmed the
arrival of ECOWAS representatives.
A plane carrying the delegation landed in Niger’s capital,
Niamey, on Saturday, a day after the ECOWAS military chiefs said they were
ready to intervene to reinstate Bazoum.
ECOWAS defence chiefs met within the week in Accra, Ghanaian
capital, to fine-tune details of a potential military operation to restore
Bazoum if ongoing negotiations with coup leaders fail.
DAILY POST reported that ECOWAS had agreed to activate a
“standby force” as a last resort to restore democracy in Niger after generals
toppled and detained Bazoum.
However, the West African bloc says it favours dialogue to
defuse the crisis.
Meanwhile, a source close to the latest delegation said it
would send “a message of firmness” to the army officers and meet Bazoum.
“We are ready to go any time the order is given,”
Abdel-Fatau Musah, an ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs and security,
said on Friday after the military chiefs’ meeting.
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