“There would be war if you interfere in our affair” – Mali, Burkina Faso warn Tinubu, ECOWAS

Burkina Faso and Mali have warned the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against military intervention in Niger to restore deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.

To them, such a move by ECOWAS, led by president Bola Tinubu will be considered a “declaration of war against their two countries.”

The warning from Burkina Faso and Mali, two countries ruled by the military, comes a day after West African leaders, supported by their Western partners, threatened to use “force” to reinstate the democratically elected Bazoum and slapped financial sanctions on the Nigerien government.

At an emergency summit on Sunday July 30, ECOWAS demanded that Bazoum be reinstated within a week, failing which it would take “all measures” to restore constitutional order.

“Such measures may include the use of force for this effect,” it said in a statement.

 In a joint statement, the governments of Burkina Faso and Mali warned that “any military intervention against Niger would be tantamount to a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali.”

They said the “disastrous consequences of a military intervention in Niger… could destabilise the entire region.”

They also said they “refuse to apply” the “illegal, illegitimate and inhumane sanctions against the people and authorities of Niger.”