The defense chiefs from the Economic Community of West African States countries excluding Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea and Niger, gather for their extraordinary meeting in Accra, Ghana, Aug 17, 2023, to discuss the situation in Niger. (PHOTO / AP)

ACCRA - The defense chiefs of the Economic Community of West African States met on Thursday in Ghana's capital of Accra to discuss plans for the deployment of a standby force to Niger.

A two-day extraordinary meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff opened here from Thursday to Friday followed the directives by the leadership of ECOWAS at their last emergency session in Nigeria to discuss the political situation in Niger.

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Opening the meeting, Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, said despite the preparations towards the deployment of the ECOWAS standby force, the military option would be the last resort and all other options including the diplomatic resolution were still on the table.

Musah said the ECOWAS standby force was ready to move into Niger to restore constitutional rule should all efforts to end the impasse peacefully fail.

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At their last extraordinary summit in Nigeria last week, the leadership of ECOWAS decided to activate the standby force in response to the recent coup in Niger, while underscoring their continued commitment to restore constitutional order in the country through peaceful means.