Senegal vows to join ECOWAS if military interventions deployed in Niger

Supporters wave Russian flags and a placard with an anti France slogan as they rally in support of Niger’s junta in Niamey on July 30, 2023. – Niger’s junta on Sunday said ECOWAS could stage an imminent military intervention in the capital Niamey as the regional body meets for an “extraordinary summit” on the coup-hit country, with sanctions a possibility. The country’s elected president Mohamed Bazoum has been held by the military for four days, and General Abdourahamane Tiani, the chief of the powerful presidential guard, has declared himself leader. (Photo by – / AFP)

Senegal said Thursday that it will participate if the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decides to intervene militarily in Niger following last week’s coup.

Foreign Minister Aissata Tall Sall told reporters during a government press briefing in the capital Dakar that there had been “one coup too many” in the region and cited Senegal’s international commitments.

“Senegalese soldiers, for all these reasons, will go there,” she said.

Regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened potential use of force if the junta does not restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum by Sunday.

Niger is the fourth member of the bloc to undergo a putsch since 2020.

The military chiefs of ECOWAS member countries met in Nigeria on Wednesday for three days of consultations.

Tall Sall said Senegal was obligated to go along with ECOWAS’s decisions.

But she added, “Senegal’s conviction is that these coups must be stopped — that’s why we are going there”.

She also raised the question of why ECOWAS would send troops to Niger when it had not done so in Mali, Guinea or Burkina Faso following coups in those countries.

“To give a simple answer, because it is one coup too many”, she said.

But, she added, the “real” reason was that ECOWAS wanted to do everything it could to negotiate with those countries on the timelines for returning power to elected civilians.