Nigeria's President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, participated in the ECOWAS meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria, on Thursday, August 10, 2023.

During this meeting, West African leaders discussed their next steps in response to the defiance of Niger's military junta, which failed to meet their deadline for reinstating the ousted president.

However, experts suggest that the regional bloc, ECOWAS, might be running out of viable options as support for a military intervention wanes. (AP Photo/Gbemiga Olamikan)

In light of a military junta's refusal to step down after seizing power through an undemocratic abduction of Niger's president, West African nations have placed their armed forces on standby, prepared for a potential military intervention.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a coalition of 15 nations, convened on Thursday and issued a statement that strongly denounced the unlawful detention of President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger.

While the final decision entails the readiness of troops that could potentially intervene in a matter of weeks, ECOWAS underscores its ongoing pursuit of a peaceful resolution to the ongoing crisis.

President Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast confirmed his nation's involvement in the operation, alongside Nigeria and Benin.

Ouattara informed reporters that the coup in Niger constitutes a "terrorist act" and highlighted that diplomatic negotiations with military leaders have so far yielded no progress.

“We cannot let this continue, we have to act,” Ouattara said. “We will not accept coup d’etats.”

Any military action could be dangerous for Bazoum. Military junta leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani has threatened to kill the abducted president if neighboring countries invade Niger.

Tchiani has refused diplomatic negotiations from the West, including officials from the State Department, and entrenched himself in power this week by appointing his own officials to lead the government.

The situation in Niger has quickly spiraled out of control since the coup in late July displaced Bazoum in the capital of Niamey. ECOWAS imposed a deadline on Sunday to release Bazoum, which the military junta ignored. Leaders instead closed all flights in and out of the country.

Tchiani has justified the overthrow by citing an economic crisis and soaring violence in the West African nation.

Some in Niger have supported the coup because of concerns about corruption during Bazoum’s administration, along with a compounding economic insecurity and violence crisis.

Two West African nations have also supported Niger’s military leaders, Burkina Faso and Mali. Their governments are military-led and suspended from ECOWAS membership. It’s unclear how both nations might respond to military intervention in Niger.

The African Union on Friday supported the ECOWAS activation of troops.

In a statement, African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat expressed “deep concern about the deterioration of the conditions of detention of President Mohamed Bazoum.”

“The Chairman of the Commission calls on the whole of the international community to unite all its concrete efforts to save the life and the moral and physical integrity of President Mohamed Bazoum,” he said.