The media reported on the plans of African countries to send 25,000 troops to Niger

African countries can send a contingent of 25,000 troops to invade Niger, reported French radio station RFI, citing an official in Nigeria.

“Chiefs of Staff Plan [стран Африки] provided for the intervention workforce of 25,000 people. The largest contingent will come from Nigeria, where its president, Bola Tinubu, has pledged zero tolerance for coups.

How informed Earlier, CNN, citing a military source, the Niger army began to transfer reinforcements to the capital city of Niamey in preparation for a possible invasion. It is clarified that the purpose of these actions is “to calm the agitated public and prepare for a potential battle.”

On July 27, the Niger military announced the removal of President Mohamed Bazum and the closure of the country’s borders. The rebels allegedly explained their actions by the deterioration of security, economic and social problems.

On July 31, ECOWAS, which includes 15 states of the African region, issued a statement on the possible use of force if the rebels do not restore constitutional order in the country within a week and release the ousted president. On August 6, the bloc’s ultimatum expired. Previously, Nigeria, Senegal, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire are ready to send their troops to Niger.

On August 3, an ECOWAS delegation traveled to Niger seeking a peaceful resolution, but Reuters reported that there was no progress at a meeting with the rebels at the airport. 7 August Acting Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met in Niger with representatives of the rebels.

According to her, she suggested that the rebels “keep the doors open for diplomacy” and reminded them that the ideas of the rebels do not coincide with the constitution. Nuland clarified that during the negotiations she was unable to meet with the detained president, but spoke with him by phone.

The media noted that ECOWAS already had experience of intervention to change the government. In 2017, an incursion by the organization’s forces in the Gambia led to the flight of authoritarian President Yayi Jammeh, who refused to concede defeat in the elections. At the same time, as Al Jazeera reported, the situation with the junta in Niger, the coup in which the military regimes of Mali and Burkina Faso have already supported, has little in common with the simple operation that led to the change of power in the Gambia.