The chiefs of staff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have been meeting in an extraordinary meeting since Wednesday July, 2, 2023 in Abuja, Nigeria, on the topic of the coup d’etat in the Republic of Niger.
According to local media, the meeting brings together army chiefs from 10 countries including Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, Liberia, Ghana, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Benin and Senegal. The absentees of this meeting are Mali, Niger, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Burkina Faso.
In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, ECOWAS said the meeting of chiefs of defense staff followed the decision by the authority of heads of state and government at their extraordinary session held on July 30 in Abuja.
On Sunday, ECOWAS leaders imposed sanctions on Niger and gave the putschists a one-week ultimatum to hand over power to the democratically elected government. On the other hand, the Nigerien army had warned against foreign military intervention, adding that it could have “disastrous and uncontrolled consequences”.
Meanwhile, Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea have supported the putschists in Niger, threatening war if ECOWAS intervenes militarily.
For now, there is no update on the outcome of this extraordinary meeting of the ECOWAS Chiefs of Defense Committee which should end tomorrow Friday, August 4, 2023.