Military leaders from ECOWAS will meet in Ghana to discuss sending a backup force to Niger

In the case of an intervention, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea, which were also expelled from ECOWAS following coups, want to provide military support to the junta in Niger.According to Ghana's army spokesman, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) military chiefs will meet on Thursday and Friday in Accra, Ghana, amid unease over a potential military involvement in Niger.At an emergency summit, the heads of state of ECOWAS ordered the preparation of a military force to restore constitutional order against those responsible for the coup in Niger. However, they emphasized that efforts toward a peaceful resolution of the conflict should continue. ECOWAS defence ministers and military chiefs already met a week after the coup in Niger and drafted deployment plans after they had issued an ultimatum against the putschists. Of the 15 ECOWAS members, Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Benin and Guinea-Bissau declared their willingness to provide troops in the case of an intervention.