West African defence chiefs have made a plan for potential military intervention to reverse last week's coup in Niger, including how and when to deploy forces, a leader of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Friday.
A member of the ECOWAS regional force is seen at Denton check point in Banjul, Gambia January 22, 2017. Picture taken January 22, 2017. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Phototo reverse last week's coup in Niger, including how and when to deploy forces, a leader of the Economic Community of West African States said on Friday.
The bloc is not divulging details, and will anyway require a go-ahead from the heads of member states before intervening, but various options - military or otherwise - may be available.ECOWAS has sent troops into trouble spots before, but never in Niger and rarely with the region so divided. Coup leaders in Guinea, Burkina Faso and Mali have expressed support for Niger's junta, and other countries have their own security challenges.
Security analysts and diplomats have also noted apparent divisions among Niger's armed forces, who may not all be united behind the coup."The only operationally feasible scenario I can imagine ... would be in the form of more limited support for a 'counter coup' by Nigerien forces," said Peter Pham, a fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank and a former U.S. special envoy to the Sahel region. "I don't see them coming in without that local element.
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