Russia on Friday warned against a military intervention in Niger, 24 hours after West African leaders signaled they would deploy a “standby” force in their efforts to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
“We believe that a military solution to the crisis in Niger could lead to a protracted confrontation in that African country, and to a sharp destabilisation of the situation in the Sahara-Sahel region as a whole,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a report by global news agency, AFP.
ECOWAS leaders approved the deployment of a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger, an intervention that will take place as soon as possible, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said Thursday.
The regional bloc did not provide details on the force to be deployed or the timetable for action against the military officers who seized control of Niger two weeks ago.
But on his return to Abidjan from the emergency summit in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, Ouattara said: “The Chiefs of Staff will have other conferences to finalise things but they have the agreement of the Conference of Heads of State for the operation to start as soon as possible.”
Ivory Coast would provide a battalion of 850 to 1,100 men alongside soldiers from Nigeria and Benin, and other countries would join them, Ouattara said.
“We are determined to restore president Bazoum to his functions.”
Earlier, in Abuja, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray had announced the deployment of the bloc’s force.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a non-violent solution to reverse the coup, praising the “determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis” in a statement on Thursday.
The bloc was “playing a key role in making clear the imperative of a return to constitutional order, and we very much support ECOWAS’ leadership and work on this”, he told reporters earlier Thursday.
Former colonial power France gave its “full support to all the conclusions” ECOWAS reached, the foreign ministry said.
But even as the summit took place, Niger’s new military rulers moved to consolidate their position and signalled further defiance by appointing a new government.
A 21-member cabinet will be headed by Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian, with generals from the new military governing council leading the defence and interior ministries.
The coup leaders have already defied the Sunday deadline set by ECOWAS a week earlier to reinstate Bazoum — detained since July 26 — or face military possible intervention.
In Abuja, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who chaired the crisis meeting, said: “All is not lost yet” for a “peaceful solution, as a roadmap to restore democracy and stability”.
But he added: “No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort.”
The 15-nation regional bloc is struggling to stem military takeovers that have now swept through four of its members in three years, potentially heralding fresh instability in a region struggling for years against jihadist insurgencies.
