RABAT, August 17. /TASS/. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will restore the constitutional order in Niger by all available means, Abdel-Fatau Musah, the bloc’s commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, said at a meeting of ECOWAS military chiefs in Ghana on Thursday.

The constitutional order in Niger will be restored by all available means, Al Jazeera quoted Musah as saying.

According to the commissioner, the West African bloc is ready to participate in a standby force that could intervene in the situation in Niger if diplomatic efforts fail. Although the ECOWAS member states don’t give up efforts to solve the crisis diplomatically, rebels who came to power in Niger simply pretend they are ready to negotiate, he added.

In late July, a group of military rebels in Niger announced the removal of President Mohamed Bazoum. They then established the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (Conseil national pour la sauvegarde de la patrie, CNSP), headed by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, to run the country. ECOWAS leaders issued an ultimatum, demanding that the rebels release Bazoum, threatening to use force.

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara said upon returning from an emergency ECOWAS meeting in Abuja on August 10 that the ECOWAS leaders had agreed to launch a military operation in Niger "as soon as possible.".