The countdown imposed by ECOWAS came to an end on Sunday August 6th. Last week, a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) tried to negotiate with the putschists in Niger. In vain. The intergovernmental organization therefore said it was ready to intervene against those who overthrew power on July 26 if President-elect Mohamed Bazoum was not reinstated within seven days.
The ultimatum therefore expired on Sunday evening. For the time being, the generals who have taken power in Niamey have shown no desire to give way. Faced with this threat of intervention, Niger closed its airspace until further notice and announced that “any attempt to violate the airspace” will lead to “an energetic and instantaneous response”. What is this organization and how could it intervene? Le Figaro takes stock.
In 1959, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Niger founded the Conseil de l’Entente, considered the first union of states in the West African region. Its goal ? To promote development and peace in its Member States. Joined by Nigeria and Togo, the countries wanted to expand the council and propose a regional economic integration zone. ECOWAS was born on May 28, 1975, during a treaty in Lagos, capital of Nigeria.
It is now made up of 15 countries: Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. The participation of three states is currently suspended following military coups: Mali, Guinea (2021) and Burkina Faso (2022).
If its mission is to “promote economic integration in the region”, one of the main projects of ECOWAS is to establish a single currency, nicknamed the eco. On the institution’s website, it is possible to find several objectives, including the liberalization of trade, the free movement of people and the harmonization of regulations. Several fundamental principles are also stated, such as “the promotion and consolidation of a democratic system of government in each member state”.
ECOWAS, which had already imposed financial and trade sanctions against Niamey, had given the putschists seven days to restore President Mohamed Bazoum. “All the elements of a possible intervention have been worked out,” declared the Commissioner for Political Affairs and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, without giving further details. “ECOWAS is not going to tell the putschists when and where we are going to strike,” he added. Threats to be taken “very seriously”, commented Catherine Colonna, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, during an interview with France Info.
This is not the first time that ECOWAS has intervened militarily. For this, the community has a military group, nicknamed the Ecomog (Economic Community of West African States Cease-fire Monitoring Group), also known as the “white helmets”. This armed force was designed in 1990 during the outbreak of civil war in Liberia to monitor the application of ceasefires. At first temporary, the group then quickly became the armed wing of the community.
In addition to Liberia, the armed group also intervened in Sierra Leone between 1997 and 2000, in Guinea-Bissau in 1998, 1999 and in 2012 or more recently in Gambia (2017). As part of the putsch in Niger, only Senegal, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire have publicly announced, for the moment, their willingness to send soldiers to the ECOWAS force.
