The military administration in Niger that deposed President Mohamed Bazoum recalled the country's ambassador in Ivory Coast on Monday for consultations, its spokesperson said.
The decision followed recent remarks by Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara that indicated his “eagerness” to send troops to Niger for military intervention, Col. Amadou Abdramane said on national television.
Abdramane said President Ouattara’s wish was to “see this illegal and senseless aggression against Niger enforced.”
At the end of a summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Nigeria last week, the bloc’s leaders said diplomacy was on the table as the best approach to resolve the political crisis.
But they also made clear that the military option was on the cards, and ordered the activation of the bloc’s standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger.
Briefing journalists in the Ivorian city of Abidjan after last week’s summit, President Ouattara said he had instructed the chief of staff of the Ivorian army “to start mobilising his troops for their participation in this ECOWAS operation” and that Ivory Coast was ready to provide a battalion of 850 to 1,100 troops.
On Monday, ECOWAS condemned the military administration’s plan to prosecute President Bazoum, who was ousted by military intervention on July 26, describing it as another form of provocation.
On Sunday, a spokesman for Niger’s military said Bazoum would be charged with “high treason and undermining the internal and external security” of the country.
Bazoum, his son and wife are reportedly being held hostage at his palace in the capital Niamey since the military removed him.
Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, the former commander of Niger's presidential guard, declared himself the head of a transitional government after the military ousted Bazoum.
