Following an order for the deployment of a Standby Force in Niger by the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Thursday, there is plan for the West African military chiefs to meet on Saturday to review the situation, regional military sources said.
The talks among chiefs of staff of ECOWAS member states will take place in the Ghanaian capital Accra, they said on Friday, according to AFP.
On Thursday, the regional bloc, rising from its Extraordinary Summit in Abuja, ordered immediate deployment of a standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger.
The decision was a result of the failure of the Niger junta to honour a one-week given to release ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and restore democracy.
Instead, the junta formed a new government to be headed by a transitional prime minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine.
In its reaction to the bloc’s standby force, the junta threatened to kill Bazoum, if there is any military intervention from the neigbhbouring country.
Reports said this was revealed by a top US diplomat.