Mali, Burkina Faso deploy warplanes in Niger after ECOWAS threat

 

Following threats of military action by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Burkina Faso and Mali have deployed fighter jets to Niger Republic.

Burkina Faso and Mali warned that any military intervention in Niger would be considered a declaration of war against them.

ECOWAS had threatened to declare war on Niger Republic if the junta failed to reinstate the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.

However, both governments said any military intervention in Niger would destabilise the region.

A joint statement by both governments reads partly: “The disastrous consequences of a military intervention in Niger could destabilise the entire region.”

Niger television station however reported that the military leaders from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger convened Friday in the Nigerien capital Niamey to decide on “concrete measures” in case ECOWAS chooses to “escalate a war.”