Niger Coup: ECOWAS Committee Of Chiefs Of Defence Staff Meet In Accra To Finalise Plan For Military Action
- ECOWAS defence chiefs are in Accra for a two-day summit on August 17 and 18 to finalise a plan for the possible deployment of military forces in Niger
- The meeting was first scheduled for August 12 but was subsequently postponed indefinitely
- The summit in Accra follows a directive of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government
PAY ATTENTION: Be the first to follow YEN.com.gh on Threads! Click here!
Ghana's capital, Accra, will on Thursday, August 17, 2023, host a meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff over the coup in Niger.
The meeting, which will continue on August 18, is expected to finalise a plan by the regional bloc to deploy a standby military force to Niger to remove the junta that ousted a democratically elected president on July 26.
Source: Facebook
In a statement, ECOWAS explained the two-day meeting in Accra is a follow-up to the directive of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at its Extraordinary Summit on the political situation in Niger held on August 10, 2023, in Abuja, Nigeria.
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see YEN.com.gh News on your News Feed!
ECOWAS determined to make an example of Niger
Last week, Nigeria's President and Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, convened an Extraordinary Summit of the Authority on the political situation in the Republic of Niger.
The summit was held in Abuja, on Thursday, August 10, 2023, and discussed the political situation and recent developments in Niger.
It was at that meeting that the heads of state agreed that military intervention was necessary.
Military action could be catastrophic
Colonel Festus B. Aboagye (Rtd), an Author and Conflict & Security Analyst has told YEN.com.gh in an exclusive interview that a military intervention could backfire.
The consultant on UN-AU Joint Planning for AU Peace Support Operations also said ECOWAS was too hasty to announce the plan for military intervention.
Col Aboagye (rtd) told YEN.com.gh that the threat of terrorism that has plagued the West African sub-region could be escalated with a military intervention.
"If ECOWAS hasn't done enough to fight terrorists threatening the region, they must not fight Niger because that could escalate the situation. Ghana must not be part of this potentially catastrophic decision," he said.
Pressure mounts on Akufo-Addo to come to Parliament over ECOWAS intervention plan
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a previous story that Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo and his appointees in charge of security remain tight-lipped despite pressure to present his administration's decision on the Niger coup to Parliament.
Ghana made initial commitments to support a possible military intervention in the West African country by ECOWAS.
An earlier meeting in Accra on Saturday, August 12, 2023, to firm up ECOWAS' plan of action against the Niger junta was postponed.
Ghana is torn between backing ECOWAS plan and backing out
In a related story, Akufo-Addo seems undecided about deploying Ghanaian troops to support the plan by ECOWAS to break into Niger with a military force to restore democratic power.
But while he is in that dilemma, experts reject the move to strike the military junta due to the far-reaching consequences for the country and the sub-region.
New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡️ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!
Source: YEN.com.gh
