[Daily Caller] West Africa is on the brink of armed conflict as a regional security bloc must decide whether to intervene against the junta leaders in Niger, at least one of whom previously trained under Department of Defense (DOD) programs.An historically bad neighborhood. Send in a small reconnaissance team in 200 years to conduct an area study update. Until then, stay out of it.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a Nigeria-led economic and security group, set a Sunday ultimatum for the military officers who seized control of Niger in July to restore the ousted president under threat of force, according to Reuters. But the deadline passed without a change in Nigerien leadership, and the ruling elements of Niger’s security forces on Sunday announced pre-positioning of troops ahead of a possible ECOWAS invasion.
If launched, it would trigger the first conflict involving multiple countries on the continent in decades, according to Politico.
A Politico prediction of hoped for conflict and mayhem.
ECOWAS heads will discuss the matter Thursday.
“Niger’s armed forces and all our defense and security forces, backed by the unfailing support of our people, are ready to defend the integrity of our territory,” a junta representative said in a statement, according to Reuters.
West African leaders say they have spectated over too many coups in recent years and need to restore credibility, but breaks in the bloc have already formed, according to Reuters. Member states Mali and Burkina Faso, both run by U.S.-trained military officials who wrested power from their predecessors in the last two years, have pledged to come to Niger’s defense if needed.
Niger closed its airspace Sunday, warning of an attack from a foreign power, and promised to defend against invading forces, Reuters reported. In previous days it sent a delegation to Mali asking for spare Russian-affiliated Wagner mercenaries to join the fight in the event of a Western-backed intervention.
In other words 'Yankees and other meddling Westerners go home.' Why do we always miss the underlying themes and local sentiments ?
ECOWAS leaders over the weekend developed a war plans, adding that operational decisions would be left up to individual heads of state, Reuters reported. Nigerian president Bola Tinubu has asked the senate for authorization to take military action against Niger.
France, which has about 1,500 troops stationed in Niger, announced it would support ECOWAS operations on Saturday but did not specify the nature of that support, Politico reported. Niger, a former French colony, cut off military cooperation activities with France after the coup attempt.