West African Army Chiefs are due to hold a second and final day of talks on Friday in Ghana's capital Accra, where they have been discussing the details of a possible military intervention in Niger if diplomacy fails to reverse a military coup.

According to the official schedule, during their two-day meeting, which ends with a closing ceremony from around 1600 GMT, Defence Chiefs have been discussing logistics and other aspects of a possible deployment.

ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdel-Fatau Musah said at the start of the event on Thursday that; “the use of force remains a last resort, but if everything else fails, the valiant forces of West Africa are ready to answer to the call of duty”.

He said most of the bloc's 15 member states were prepared to participate in the standby force excepting those also under military rule - Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Cape Verde.

Access24 reports that Niger also has strategic importance beyond West Africa because of its uranium and oil reserves and role as a hub for foreign troops involved in the fight against the insurgents linked to al Qaeda.