Military leaders from West Africa on Friday, engaged in a second day of discussions in Ghana, focusing on preparations for a potential military intervention in Niger. This action is in response to a coup that led to the removal of President Mohamed Bazoum.

West African military chiefs held a second day of talks in Ghana on Friday, preparing for a possible armed intervention in Niger after a coup there ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

The ECOWAS force is ready to intervene in Niger ‘anytime the order is given’, an official said Friday following talks on the coup that ousted Mohamed Bazoum as president.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has agreed to activate a “standby force” as a last resort to restore democracy in Niger after generals toppled and detained Bazoum last month.

ECOWAS defense chiefs were meeting in the Ghanaian capital Accra to fine tune details of the potential military operation to restore Bazoum if ongoing negotiations with coup leaders fail.

The two-day Accra meeting will conclude on Friday when the defense chiefs are expected to announce any next steps at a closing ceremony at 1600 GMT.

West African bloc ECOWAS could send a diplomatic mission to Niger on Saturday, an official said Friday, though previous delegations have failed to meet the country’s new strongman.

Bazoum, whose 2021 election was a landmark in Niger’s troubled history, has been held with his family at the president’s official residence since the July 26 coup, with growing international concern over his conditions in detention.

ECOWAS chair and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu threatened Niamey with “grave consequences” if the new regime allows Bazoum’s health to worsen under house arrest, an EU official said Friday.

ECOWAS leaders say they have to act after Niger became the fourth West Africa nation since 2020 to suffer a coup, following Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

Details of the Niger operation have not been released and analysts say any intervention would be politically and militarily risky, especially for regional player Nigeria.

Nigeria is already struggling to contain violence from several armed groups at home, and leaders in the country’s north have warned about spillover from Niger across the border if there is an intervention.

Niger’s coup leaders have warned against any military strikes and defiantly threatened to charge Bazoum with treason. But they have also said they are open to talks.

The military-ruled governments in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso have also said an intervention in Niger would be seen as a declaration of war against them.

Russia and the United States have urged a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Germany’s foreign ministry has also said it wants the EU to impose sanctions on the coup leaders, saying that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had held talks with her French and US counterparts.

Khalil Wakim, with AFP