President of the Cape Verde, José Maria Neves, has said that his country, a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is opposed to a military intervention by the organisation in Niger Republic and was unlikely to participate in such a campaign.
Speaking to journalists in the Cabo Verde recently, Neves said “We must all work for the restoration of constitutional order in Niger but in no case through military intervention or armed conflict at this time.”
His call is coming amidst growing opposition to the use of force by the organisation due to worries of greater social implications that such an action would have for the region.
However, those who support the use of force say fears of adverse social implications are farfetched, citing several previous successful instances when the organisation had intervened against military juntas and sit-tight administrations.
Opponents of the use of force by ECOWAS say the circumstances surrounding previous military interventions by the organisation are different from that in the Sahel currently, a region that is already struggling to keep Islamist insurgents from spreading further south and west towards the region’s coasts.
ECOWAS had approved a “standby force” to reinstate elected President Mohamed Bazoum at the recently held Extraordinary Summit 9n the Socio-Political situation in Niger Republic, with the EU’s top diplomat expressing concern about his conditions in detention since he was ousted by members of his guard on July 26.
Chiefs of staff from member states of the West African bloc had been set to attend a meeting on Saturday in Ghana’s capital Accra to inform the organisation’s leaders about “the best options” for activating and deploying the standby force, regional military sources had said on Friday. However, they later said the meeting had been suspended indefinitely for “technical reasons”.
ECOWAS has yet to provide details on the force or a timetable for action, and the leaders have emphasised they still want a peaceful solution.
