The Economic Community of West African States has said most of its member states are ready to participate in a standby force that could intervene in Niger following a coup there late last month.

Defense chiefs from the 15-member regional bloc met in Accra on Thursday as part of latest efforts to overturn the ouster of Mohammed Bazoum, Niger’s president who was deposed in a July 26 coup.

All member states except those under military rule and Cape Verde are ready to participate in the standby force, ECOWAS commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah said on Thursday.

The bloc has long deliberated on the use of force which it described as a ‘last resort’ for weeks due to a lack of consensus within its ranks.

Burkina Faso and Mali, which have experienced multiple coups since 2020, warned that any military intervention in Niger would be declared as an act of war, revealing a fracture in the region between its coastal countries and those in the volatile Sahel.

Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford reporting from the Ghanaian border with Burkina Faso on Thursday had also said Ghanaian authorities were nervous about provoking its neighbours with which it has cultural ties and military cooperation agreements.

The top security body of the African Union met Monday to consider whether it would support military intervention but has yet to make public its decision.

The AU’s Peace and Security Council could overrule a military intervention if it felt that wider stability on the continent was threatened by it. If it rejects the use of force, there are few grounds under which ECOWAS could claim legal justification.