If ECOWAS engages in any military action to restore President Mohamed Bazoum, the military junta in Niger has threatened to assassinate him.
The Associated Press reported on Thursday, August 10 that two “Western officials” said the coup plotters made the threat while chatting with a senior American diplomat.
The purported threat was made just before ECOWAS announced that it had ordered the deployment of a “standby force” to restore democracy in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate Bazoum’s administration passed.
The warning ups the ante for ECOWAS as well as the junta, which has demonstrated its willingness to step up its tactics since seizing control on July 26.
As an ally of the US and France, Niger has assisted in the fight against jihadi violence associated with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, which has resulted in thousands of deaths and millions of displaced people.
According to the AP article, officials of the junta informed U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat against Bazoum during her visit to the nation this week, according to a Western military officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
According to reports, a U.S. official who also spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to speak to the media confirmed that allegation.
Omar Alieu Touray, the president of the ECOWAS Commision, stated that he could only reiterate the decisions made by “the military authorities in the subregion to deploy a standby force of the community” after a meeting of nine leaders from the 15-member West African bloc on Thursday in Abuja.
He declared that further moves by the group will be conducted together and accused the junta of being responsible for whatever hardship the Niger sanctions caused.
“It is not one country against another country. The community has instruments to which all members have subscribed to,” he said.
