Good Al Jazeera "Inside Story" video and podcast in article page
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/...remain-defiant

ECOWAS leaders say all options open in Niger, including ‘use of force’
West African bloc activates standby force for possible Niger intervention, says it wants a peaceful restoration of democracy.

The remarks came as the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met in Nigeria’s Abuja on Thursday for an emergency summit to discuss responses to last month’s military takeover in Niger, after the coup leaders defied their earlier threat to use force to restore democracy.

https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content...1691687922.jpg
The President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu, centre, and leaders of ECOWAS meet to discuss the political situation in Niger, in Abuja, Nigeria [EPA]

This whole thing makes me think of the French TV series "A Very Secret Service"

https://youtu.be/rI7mf8TJaME?si=gSlOynpQzNxallDS
https://youtu.be/K1eBLuiDK-w?si=qpJJcVktqvv7Xtvb

:haha::har: Very funny, I don't know this TV serie....:o

This could all get messy very quickly.

https://youtu.be/_d_UH3lyqb8?si=fEx4T9EBpDSw7-8W

3212 unredacted the "Tongo Tongo ambush"
https://youtu.be/qwOPg-1G1J0?si=mLeZCvBl-HtFdV-r

The Tongo Tongo ambush or the Niger ambush occurred on 4 October 2017, when armed militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) attacked Nigerien and US soldiers outside the village of Tongo Tongo, Niger, while they were returning to base after a stop in the village.[20] During the ambush, four Nigeriens, four US soldiers, and at least 21 ISGS militants were killed, and eight Nigeriens and two US soldiers including the team commander were wounded. In the day preceding the ambush, the Nigerien and US soldiers conducted a mission attempting to locate and capture or kill Doundou Chefou, a commander in the ISGS.[21]

The ambush sparked political debate over the presence of US forces in Africa and brought attention to previously under-reported US military activities in the region.[22] The ambush also prompted congressional inquiries, and an investigation by the US Department of Defense (DoD).[23] The DoD inquiry, completed in 2018, found that the 11-member US special forces team was not prepared for the mission, and identified other flaws in planning.[20]

The ambush remains the largest loss of American lives in combat in Africa since the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongo_Tongo_ambush

It's TASS I can therefore not say how reliable it is

https://tass.com/world/1659417

Then I read this article

https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/08/09...ria-intervene/

Markus

This is precisely the sort of garbage you'd expect from the Hindustan Times, the same Hindustan Times so often cited by a certain individual in the Ukraine thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUjkhub5x4Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idKH...tVeteranReacts

Markus

Not long now perhaps :hmmm:

I think its just posturing, these countries don't have the logistics to mount a large attack on another country.

Their military are mainly to keep their populations inline and maybe some counterinsurgency.
https://www.sbmintel.com/wp-content/...-1280x1536.jpg
(couldn't load image need to view as link)
#Daily Chart: Military strength of Niger and its allies vs. the rest of ECOWAS
https://twentytendaily.com/daily-cha...est-of-ecowas/


What the French, Russian, Chinese and Americans are up to is a whole other thing.

Fair point but still numbers enough to kill a lot of people.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm..._the_Sahel.jpg
Task force Sabre
https://youtu.be/qhR8qmIcL2I?si=yPq3Hp2L2j-QMN2i
Operation Takuba
https://youtu.be/vVfFzFk76-I?si=ablkEp9AlYqnTON2
Sahel
https://youtu.be/q_1Ypz2mNSc?si=lc4H_MRkD2GeDBIT
https://youtu.be/ORI8Gl9he44?si=GSE1AAB2RZrZMqfR
Wagner
https://youtu.be/5sDQAW_VGg0?si=Zni8wxvxexpqmz1s

My quick off the cuff assessment, ECOWAS doesn't matter. The main problem seems to be Anti-French colonialism, which the Russians are exploiting (encouraging?), the continue rise of Islamic insurgency and always local warlords(bandits).

Well there you go...

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/...-on-niger-coup

Must be hard for french nationalists to praise Russia and french colonies, and then still support Wagner/Russia taking them away from France :D