NIAMEY, Niger >> West African defense chiefs met Thursday to discuss the crisis in Niger after coup leaders there ignored their deadline to step down, leaving the region’s countries with few options in their effort to restore democratic rule.

Niger’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, was overthrown in July and remains under house arrest with his wife and son in the capital, Niamey.

Defense chiefs from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, were meeting Thursday in Ghana to discuss next steps in their stated goal of restoring Bazoum. Coup leaders in Niger already have ignored a deadline to restate him or face military intervention.

This is the first meeting since ECOWAS ordered the deployment of a “standby force” last week to restore constitutional rule in the country. It’s unclear if or when troops would intervene. A force would likely consist of several thousands soldiers from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Benin and could take weeks or months to prepare, say conflict experts.

ECOWAS has a poor track record in stemming the region’s rampant coups: neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali have each had two within three years. Niger’s coup was seen by the international community and ECOWAS as one too many and in addition to threatening a military invasion, the bloc has imposed severe economic and travel sanctions.

But as time drags on with no military action and a standstill in negotiations, the junta is entrenching its power, leaving ECOWAS with few choices.

“ECOWAS has few good options ... particularly as the (junta) seems unwilling for the moment to cede to outside pressure,” said Andrew Lebovich, a research fellow with the Clingendael Institute, a think tank. “An intervention could backfire.”