The president of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, said here on Tuesday that the sub-regional organization is ready to deploy troops to intervene in the political crises in Guinea Bissau and Mali.

Ouedraogo made the remarks at the ongoing 2012 ordinary session of the ECOWAS Parliament held in Abuja.

He revealed that apart from the 11 million U.S. dollars of funding for the troops to be deployed in Guinea Bissau, ECOWAS has also sought logistics support from its development partners.

"We are in contact with the United States, France and the United Nations, who are added partners helping in the deployment of troops," he said.

"We are mobilizing all of our resources and are working at the Commission to obtain the necessary financial backing, and by next week ECOWAS troops should be in Guinea Bissau," he added.

According to Ouedraogo, the crisis in Mali has also posed a threat to the region. He said that current options for ECOWAS include a peaceful resolution of the crisis and also a possible use of force.

"A strategic plan has been drawn up, and if the ECOWAS force has to be deployed, we need a go-ahead from the UN Security Council," Ouedraogo said.

The ECOWAS chief also said that the Commission has already started the process of providing financial support to help address the humanitarian issues arising from the situation in both countries. Enditem