General staff chiefs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have agreed on a date for the beginning of military intervention in Niger, but will not make it public, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdel-Fatau Musah said on Friday.
"The D-day is also decided. We've already agreed and fine-tuned what will be required for the intervention," Musah was quoted as saying by the Qatari broadcaster.
Although the ECOWAS commissioner refused to disclose the date of possible intervention, he said that the bloc's troops were ready "to go anytime the order is given," the media reported.
The commissioner added that the African bloc could send a diplomatic mission to Niger on Saturday.
"Tomorrow there is the possibility of an ECOWAS mission going into Niger to continue to pursue the peaceful path to restoration of constitutional order. We are ready to resolve the issue peacefully but it takes two to tango," the French outlet quoted Musah as saying.
Musah made the statement at the end of a two-day meeting of the ECOWAS general staff chiefs in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
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.
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.