Niger coup: West African countries to assemble and prepare army for intervention

(Patria) - West African countries have approved an armed intervention in Niger "as soon as possible", said the President of Ivory Coast, after a meeting discussing the coup.

At the meeting, leaders of the regional bloc ECOWAS said they had agreed to assemble "standby" military forces, reports the BBC. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said the use of force would be a "last resort". The military junta seized power in Niger on July 26.

After the ECOWAS meeting, Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast said that ECOWAS had previously intervened in African countries to restore constitutional order.

"Today we have a similar situation in Niger, and I like to say that ECOWAS cannot accept this," he said.

Ouattara said that Ivory Coast will provide a battalion of 850 to 1,100 men, and said that soldiers from Nigeria and Benin will also be deployed.

Omar Touray, president of the ECOWAS group, said that the members decided to "order the deployment of forces to restore constitutional order in Niger".

He did not provide further details on what the force they intend to assemble might look like or what actions they might take. Earlier, Burkina Faso and Mali announced that they would consider the deployment of forces against the junta in Niger as a declaration of war on their countries.