An emergency meeting of the chiefs of staff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Ghana will agree on a concrete date for the launch of the military intervention in Niger, media reported, citing a spokesperson for the organization.
The spokesperson told the outlet that the summit's purpose is to choose the timetable of the intervention, since everything else is ready.
On the first day of the meeting in Ghana, the sides discussed the distribution of reserves among potential participants in the operation against Niger, according to the report. At least five ECOWAS members, Nigeria, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Benin and Guinea-Bissau, are among the future participants.
Distribution work that was not completed during yesterday's session will continue on Friday, the media reported.
On Thursday, an unnamed officer in the ECOWAS standby force said that no order had been given to stop the deployment, so the activation of the troops was still in effect despite the community's diplomatic efforts.
A coup took place in Niger on July 26. President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted and detained by his own guard, led by Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani. Following the coup, ECOWAS suspended all financial aid to Niger, froze rebels' assets and imposed a ban on commercial flights to and from the country.
In early August, during a summit in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, ECOWAS leaders agreed to activate a standby force to potentially compel the Nigerien military to reinstate Bazoum.