West African countries prepare plan for military intervention in Niger

(Patria) - Defence chiefs of West African countries have prepared a plan for a possible military intervention against the coup leaders who seized power in Niger last week.

The plan includes a timeline and the method of deploying troops, an ECOWAS official announced yesterday. The regional bloc will not reveal to the coup leaders when and where they will strike.

- That decision will be made by the heads of state - said Abdel-Fatau Musah, the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

"All elements of any possible intervention have been worked out, including the necessary resources and the manner and time when we will deploy forces," Musah added after a three-day meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

ECOWAS earlier imposed sanctions on Niger and warned that it would authorise the use of force if the junta leaders do not return ousted Mohamed Bazoum to power by Sunday, Hina reports.

A 15-member delegation was sent to Niger on Thursday to find a friendly solution, but a source reveals that the meeting at the airport with the junta leaders did not lead to progress.

- We want diplomacy to succeed and we want to clearly convey to them that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done - Musah stressed.

ECOWAS is an organisation founded in 1975 in Lagos that today brings together fifteen West African states: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

Members Mali and Burkina Faso, also led by coup leaders, have announced that in the event of an alliance intervention in Niger, they will side with the coup leaders.