Tension is brewing between the Nigerien military authorities and Côte d’Ivoire.
The coup leaders recalled the Nigerien envoy in Abidjan on Monday (Aug. 14) after remarks by Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.
On his return from a summit of the ECOWAS August 10, Ouattara said the heads of state had agreed a military operation should “start as soon as possible”.
“Far from being the expression of the will of the brotherly Ivorian people, whose friendship with the people of Niger is unequivocal, this unusual declaration by President Ouattara and his eagerness to carry out an aggression against Niger which is in every way illegal and senseless, reflects in reality an order addressed to him and certain of his peers in the ECOWAS by other external powers, with the aim of preserving interests that no longer match those of today’s Niger.”
Ouattara said Côte d’Ivoire would contribute a battalion of up to one thousand one hundred troops, alongside Nigeria and Benin.
Last week, ECOWAS leaders ordered the deployment of a “standby force”, but gave no details on a possible military intervention.
They also reaffirmed they’d priviledge a diplomatic route to restore president Bazoum.
AFP
