Staff Writer
Senegal declared on Thursday that it will take part in any military intervention in Niger by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in response to last week’s coup.
There had been “one coup too many” in the region, the foreign minister of Senegal, Aissata Tall Sall, said reporters at a government press conference in Dakar. She emphasized Senegal’s international obligations.
For all of these reasons, she continued, “Senegalese soldiers will go there.”
If the junta does not reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum by Sunday, regional body ECOWAS has threatened to deploy force.
Since 2020, the bloc’s fourth member to experience a putsch is Niger.
On Wednesday, the military leaders of the ECOWAS member nations gathered in Nigeria for three days of meetings.
Tall Sall asserted that Senegal must comply with ECOWAS directives.
However, she continued, “Senegal is convinced that these coups must be put an end, which is why we are going there.
In addition, she questioned why ECOWAS would send troops to Niger after coups in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, but not in Niger.
To provide a straightforward response, she explained, “because one coup is too many.”
But, she continued, the “real” reason was that ECOWAS wanted to take every opportunity to work with those nations to discuss the schedules for handing back control to elected civilians.
Tall Sall also criticized the Sahelian juntas’ justification for seizing power: it was necessary to advance the fight against jihadism.
Has there ever been a period when they were able to end the insecurity? she asked.
“What we’ve observed is that the military fills civil roles once it gains control.”
