Chiefs of staff of the armies of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) opened a two-day emergency meeting in Accra, capital of Ghana, on Thursday to mull over the possibility of a military intervention in Niger.
The deliberations, held behind closed doors, focus on the details of a plan to deploy ECOWAS standby force in Niger, restore the constitutional authority and reinstate the ousted president Mohamed Bazoum, ECOWAS Commissioner Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdel-Fatau Musah told reporters.
However, Musah did not rule out the possibility of a diplomatic solution to Niger crisis, saying this option is still on the table.
ECOWAS favors dialogue but the military force will be ready to respond if diplomacy fails to restore the constitutional order in Niger and end the military coup of July 26, he explained.
The ongoing meeting was originally slated for last Saturday but postponed due to technical reasons and differences among members of the grouping.
Source: Kuwait News Agency