Military recruitment centers for volunteers will open in Niger on Saturday to assist the army in the face of the growing threat of a possible invasion by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) following the recent coup in the country.
The initiative aims to recruit tens of thousands of volunteers across the country to join combat units as well as medical, technical and engineering logistics units of the Nigerien armed forces.
On Thursday, the Nigerien coup leaders have already deployed troops near the country's borders with Nigeria and Benin to repel potential military intervention.
On August 17-18, an emergency meeting of the ECOWAS chiefs of staff kicked off in Ghana. During the meeting, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdel-Fatau Musah said that constitutional order in Niger would be restored by "any and all means."
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, the ECOWAS leaders agreed during the summit in Abuja to activate a standby force to potentially force the Nigerien military to reinstate Bazoum.