Coup: ECOWAS delegation arrives Niger for dialogue

A delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has arrived in Niger to hold talks with the military officials who have taken control and removed President Mohamed Bazoum.

The leader of the ECOWAS delegation is Abdulsalami Abubakar, a former Nigerian leader.

Niger’s ruling military council has verified that the ECOWAS representatives have arrived.

On Saturday, a plane carrying the delegation landed in Niamey, the capital city of Niger, one day after the ECOWAS military chiefs declared their readiness to intervene and reinstate Bazoum.

Earlier in the week, the ECOWAS defense chiefs met in Accra, the capital of Ghana, to finalize the details of a potential military operation to restore Bazoum if delegation the from ongoing negotiations Economic with Community the of coup West leaders African fail.

CREEBHILLS 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 favors 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.