The ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff says it has concluded modalities for the deployment of the sub-region’s Standby Force to the Republic of Niger should the junta fail to reach an agreement with the mediation team.
ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, ECOWAS Commission, Abdel-Fatau Musa disclosed this in a statement issued at the end of an extra-ordinary meeting of ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence staff in Accra, Ghana on Saturday
It says that various states are ready to accomplish the intervention which include strategic based capacity; strategic objectives, required equipment, and commitment of member states which is very encouraging.
He noted that ECOWAS is a rule based institution and that member-states have signed on to certain obligations; that they would cede part of their sovereignty to the collective good of the people, including their national constitutions which the junta in Niger has flouted.
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He said that military intervention is not the preferred option but because of the impediments the junta keeps putting in the way for peaceful settlements for restoration of constitutional order, it remains an option to explore, adding that all the options are still on the table.
And if the Junta responds positively to the requests of the Authority of Heads of States and Government there would be no need to deploy the Standby Force.
The meeting concludes the planning phase of Standby Force readiness for deployment as soon as the Authority of Heads of State and Government gives an order.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
