Niger: The hidden issues behind ECOWAS’s military intervention
The military intervention that plans Ecowas has hidden issues. For several years now, some member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have been facing threats from terrorist groups that sow terror and destabilise the region. Although the security situation is particularly critical in Mali and Burkina Faso, ECOWAS has not mobilised financial, logistical or human resources to counter this threat.
Paradoxically, however, ECOWAS is mobilising financial and logistical resources and the capacity to muster thousands of men to wage war in Niger in order to restore a president that the people of Niger themselves no longer want.
This military intervention raises questions about its hidden issues and the interests that may be at stake.
Why has this regional organisation, which has not always been proactive in the fight against terrorism in the region, suddenly decided to intervene militarily in Niger to support a disputed president?
ECOWAS’s intervention in Niger is said to be influenced by geopolitical interests, particularly those of France.
France has historically had a strong influence in the Sahel region, due to historical, economic and security ties. It also has a military presence in Niger.
France is reportedly exerting political pressure on ECOWAS to defend its own interests in the Sahel, even if this goes against the wishes of the people of Niger.
Are France’s economic, security and geopolitical interests above Niger’s sovereignty?
ECOWAS’s military intervention in Niger raises major concerns about its real motives and the manipulation of this regional organisation by outside forces.
Pedro OKALAMAR
