FLASH: US, France Back ECOWAS Military Intervention Against Niger

The ECOWAS backs military intervention in Niger “as soon as possible,” according to a statement made by the president of Ivory Coast, a participant at the Second Extraordinary Summit of the ECOWAS that held in Abuja, Nigeria.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has instructed the Chiefs of Staff Committee to immediately activate its standby forces with all its elements to restore what it describes as “constitutional prefer in the Republic of Niger.

The United States and France have announced their support for the ECOWAS resolution on Niger.

“ECOWAS, an organization that brings together West African countries, is 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,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.

Similarly, according to the French foreign ministry, France expressed its support for the decisions reached by ECOWAS on Thursday, expressing full endorsement of their plans to deploy a standby force aimed at reinstating Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum to power.

Both countries have military bases of not less than 2,500 soldiers in Niger.