Niger coup: 'Use standby force to fight terrorists' - Gbagbo to ECOWAS

Former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo has weighed in on proposed plans by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to deploy its standby army into Niger.

The move is part of plans to reverse the July 26 coup that ousted president Mohamed Bazoum.

In an interview earlier this week, Gbagbo slammed the Ivorian president over alleged plans to deploy Ivorian soldiers before describing any intervention as "madness."

"When I heard Alassane Ouattara say he is going to send a battalion to Niger, I laughed so much. You can tell he didn't make the Army. I made the army. One battalion is three companies. You can't occupy BoboDioulasso neighborhood with that."

"I advise ECOWAS to use its standby force to fight terrorists in West Africa," he said.

"Bazoum's fate is already sealed. It will be madness to send soldiers to Niger for free killings," he stressed adding that he expected the junta in Niamey to release Bazoum who remains under detention.

“I want Bazoum to be released, but I don't want this war to take place. It would be the most stupid war,” he stressed in the August 22 interview with Le Monde Afrique.

An ECOWAS mediator and former Nigerian head of state, Abdul salami Abubakar told the BBC this week that efforts at achieving a diplomatic breakthrough were bright and that nobody wanted to go to war.

A security analyst with focus on West Africa has, however, disclosed that a deployment is imminent and that six countries were ready to contribute troops - Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Benin, Guinea-Bissau and Nigeria.

???? #Niger: President Laurent GBAGBO on CEDEAO

"When I heard Alassane Ouattara say he is going to send a battalion to Niger, I laughed so much." You can tell he didn't make the Army. I made the army. One battalion is three companies. You can't occupy BoboDioulasso neighborhood… pic.twitter.com/JUiY8NoMvn

— Zagazola (@ZagazOlaMakama) August 23, 2023

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