Warplanes have been sent to Niger by Burkina Faso and Mali in response to the potential armed intervention by the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) to restore democracy in the country. This information was reported by Niger television on Friday, which also revealed the joint support efforts for Niger by Mali and Burkina Faso.
According to the report, Mali and Burkina Faso took concrete action by deploying Super Tucano fighter jets to defend against any potential attack on Niger. President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger, a major uranium producer and ally of the West in the fight against an Islamist insurgency, was detained on June 26, leading to the overthrow of the elected government.
Following this incident, West African leaders, led by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, imposed sanctions on the military personnel and authorized a “standby force” to restore the elected president. However, the coup plotters declared war on foreign intervention and ECOWAS’s bluff, prompting ECOWAS Defense Chiefs to mobilize the region’s force for action to reinstate civil rule in Niger.
Amid these escalating tensions, the military governments of Mali and Burkina Faso warned that an armed intervention in Niger would lead to retaliation. The television station reported that the military chiefs of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger held a meeting in Niamey, the capital of Niger, to strategize “concrete measures” in the event of further escalation by ECOWAS.