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.
A delegation from regional nations arrived in Niger Saturday afternoon in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to reach a peaceful solution with mutinous soldiers who ousted the country’s president last month.
The representatives from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, came to the capital, Niamey, and 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.
“What we want to see is a return to the constitutional order. We want to see the liberation of the president and his family and restoration of his legitimate authority,” he said.
On August 10, ECOWAS ordered the deployment of a “standby force” to restore constitutional rule in the country.