ECOWAS delegation arrives in Niger a day after military intervention threat

A delegation from regional nations arrived in Niger in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to reach a peaceful solution with mutinous soldiers who ousted the country's president last month.

The delegation flew into the capital Niamey at about 1pm (12:00 GMT) on Saturday, a day after ECOWAS military chiefs announced they were ready to intervene to reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.

Niger’s governing military council confirmed the arrival of the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) representatives, headed by former Nigerian leader Abdulsalami Abubakar.

ECOWAS joined efforts by United Nations Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Santos Simao, who arrived on Friday, in trying to facilitate a resolution to the ongoing crisis.

On Friday UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Simao would meet with the junta and other parties to try and facilitate a swift and peaceful resolution to Niger’s crisis.

On August 10 ECOWAS ordered the deployment of a “standby force” to restore constitutional rule in the country.

The soldiers who overthrew Niger's democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 have quickly entrenched themselves in power, rebuffed most dialogue efforts and kept Bazoum, his wife and son under house arrest in the capital.

On Friday, the ECOWAS commissioner for peace and security, Abdel Fatau Musah, said 11 of its 15 member states agreed to commit troops to a military deployment, saying they were “ready to go” whenever the order was given.

The 11 member states don’t include Niger itself and the bloc’s three other countries under military rule following coups: Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso.

The latter two have warned they would consider any intervention in Niger an act of war. On Friday, Niger's state television said that Mali and Burkina Faso had dispatched warplanes in a show of solidarity.

Friday's announcement is the latest in a series of ultimatums by ECOWAS to forcefully restore democratic rule in Niger.

Immediately after the coup, the bloc gave the junta seven days to release and restore Bazoum, a deadline that came and went with no action.

Also on Saturday, the new United States Ambassador to Niger, Kathleen FitzGibbon, arrived in the capital, said Matthew Miller, spokesman for the State Department. The US hasn’t had an ambassador in the country for nearly two years.

Preparation to fight back

On the streets of the capital Niamey on Saturday, many residents said they're preparing to fight back against an ECOWAS military intervention.

Thousands of people in Niamey lined up outside the main stadium to register as volunteers, fighters and to help with other needs in case the junta requires support.

Some parents brought their children to sign up, while groups of youths boisterously chanted in favor of the junta and against ECOWAS and the country's former colonial ruler France.

″I am here for the recruitment to become a good soldier. We are all here for that," said Ismail Hassan a resident waiting in line to register.

“If God wills, we will all go".

Events organiser Amsarou Bako claimed that the junta was not involved in finding volunteers to defend the coup, although it is aware of the initiative. Hours after the drive started, the organizers said it would be postponed, but didn't explain why.

Dire conditions

The humanitarian situation in the country is also on the agenda of the UN's West Africa and Sahel special representative.

Before the coup, nearly 3 million people were facing severe food insecurity and hundreds of thousands were internally displaced, according to CARE, an international aid group.

Economic and travel sanctions imposed by ECOWAS after the coup, coupled with the deteriorating security, will have dire consequences for the population, CARE said.

Previously, Western countries saw Niger as one of the last democratic nations they could partner with to beat back a growing insurgency linked to Al Qaeda and Daesh, and poured millions of dollars of military aid and assistance into shoring up Niger’s forces.