Niger coup: ECOWAS military chiefs in two-day meeting in Accra

Military chiefs from West African states have started a two-day meeting on Thursday in Ghana’s capital of Accra over the military coup in Niger Republic.

The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, had given the military chiefs the order for a standby force to be activated if the Niger Republic coup leaders refused to restore democratic rule in the country, reports DW.

“Democracy is what we stand for and it’s what we encourage,” Nigeria’s Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, told the meeting.

“The focus of our gathering is not simply to react to events, but to proactively chart a course that results in peace and promotes stability,” he added.

The talks come after a deadline for mutinous soldiers to release and reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum passed earlier this month.

Bazoum has been under house arrest since the July 26 coup, which saw members of Niger’s presidential guard, headed by Abdourahmane Tchiani, seize power.

The military regime announced on Monday that it would bring Bazoum to trial on charges of high treason. The United Nations and ECOWAS condemned the decision to try Bazoum.

Last week, ECOWAS said it had ordered the activation of its “standby force” in order to “restore constitutional order in Niger.”