…People are unsure if Liberia will join a mission deployment or not.
Liberia’s President George Weah has supported the plan of the West African regional group, ECOWAS, to use military intervention in Niger in order to help reinstate the ousted President Mohamed Bazoum. The decision was revealed by Liberia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dee-Maxwell Kemayah during an extraordinary ECOWAS Summit. Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and Benin have pledged to send soldiers for this mission.
Kemayah stated that Liberia’s government strongly condemns the actions of the Nigerien military junta, including their refusal to cooperate with diplomatic efforts to restore Bazoum’s government. President Weah, having experience in dealing with conflict resolution in Liberia, fully supports the ECOWAS measures to address this situation.
ECOWAS leaders have directed their military chiefs to activate and deploy a standby force to restore order in Niger. President Bazoum of Niger was removed from power by his Presidential Guard in July, leading to the current crisis. ECOWAS is now considering military intervention as diplomatic efforts have been rejected by the military leadership.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, emphasized the need for the ECOWAS Standby Force to be deployed to restore order in Niger due to the failure of diplomatic efforts. He warned of consequences for member states opposing peaceful resolution and condemned the coup.
Since the overthrow, the coup leaders have not released Bazoum, despite a deadline set by ECOWAS. ECOWAS has also enforced measures like border closures and asset freezes against those hindering peace efforts.
ECOWAS has the right to intervene to protect democratic principles as outlined in its 2001 Protocol. This is also supported by international law. However, some neighboring countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea have expressed support for the Nigerien junta and warned against ECOWAS military intervention.