On Friday, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdel-Fatau Musah said that ECOWAS general staff chiefs had agreed on a date for the beginning of military intervention, but would not make it public.
Burkina Faso is preparing for the fact that forces of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) may launch a military intervention in Niger, and the country is ready to support Niamey, Burkinabe Defense Minister Kassoum Coulibaly told Sputnik.
"We anticipate aggression [of ECOWAS forces against Niger]. In any case, the head of our state [Ibrahim Traore] said that we are ready for the aggression, we support Niger," Coulibaly said.
He added that Burkina Faso is even ready to withdraw from ECOWAS because it considers the association's policy towards Niger illogical.
The members of the Economic Community of West African States should not wage wars against each other, and the very idea of such events is shocking, Coulibaly said.
"We have no right to fight each other. We are part of a single economic union. The very idea that some states of the association want to wage an internecine war is shocking. It is also shocking that some heads of state want to wage war against other countries under the guise of democracy," Coulibaly said.
He also noted that the organization has a wide network of offices across the region, but its leaders often ignore messages from experts on the ground.
"If they had not ignored the messages from ECOWAS experts, they would have seen the signs [of the coming conflict]. And a lot could have been avoided," the minister said.
Coulibaly additionally called the ECOWAS intention to reinstate the ousted Nigerien president, Mohamed Bazoum, strange, adding that the community itself should help states such as Niger in its fight against terrorism.
"Burkina Faso stands in solidarity with Mali and opposes any aggression against Niger because we share a common border. We are waging a war against terrorism and we must continue to wage it," he said.
A military takeover took place in Niger on July 26. Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted and detained by his own guard, led by Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani. Following the takeover, the ECOWAS suspended all financial aid to Niger, froze the assets of the military and imposed a ban on commercial flights to and from the country.
In early August, during a summit in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, the ECOWAS leaders agreed to activate a standby force to potentially compel the Nigerian military to reinstate Bazoum.
MNA/PR
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