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ECOWAS not ready yet to send in troops to Niger — newspaper

The deadline expired on Sunday but ECOWAS did not attempt to advance troops in Niger, The Wall Street Journal informed

NEW YORK, August 7. /TASS/. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has not yet been sufficiently ready to use the military force against rebels in Niger, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) newspaper said, citing a high-ranking commander from one of member-states of the Community.

On July 30, ECOWAS members condemned the coup in Niger at their summit in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, and gave the mutineers a week to restore constitutional order, threatening to take measures up to a military intervention. The deadline expired on Sunday but ECOWAS did not attempt to advance troops in Niger, the newspaper informed.

"For the moment, we need to build up the strength of our units before taking part in such a military action," the commander said, cited by the newspaper. "The success of any military action depends on good preparation," he added.