Coup leaders in Niger have shut down the country’s airspace after the West African bloc threatened military intervention if the Nigerien president was not restored to office.
The Nigerien army has been detaining the country’s ousted President Mohamed Bazoum since last month. This was the seventh coup in Africa’s Sahel in recent years.
General Abdourahamane Tiani, head of the powerful Presidential Guard, declared himself head.
On July 30, the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave the coup leaders a week to return power to the country’s civilian authorities or face the consequences, including the use of force. Sunday was the last day of the semester.
“The Armed Forces of Niger and all of our defense and security forces, backed by the staunch support of our people, stand ready to defend the integrity of our territory,” added an anonymous official.
The junta also warned that any attempt to violate the country’s airspace would require a “vigorous and immediate response. “In a separate statement, the current National Council for Defense of the Homeland, which includes the generals who took power, stated that “preliminary deployments for intervention were carried out in two Central African countries” without naming them.
The Council warned: “Any state involved will be considered an accomplice.”The military threat posed by the blockade of West Africa has raised fears of further conflict in the region, as any military intervention could be complicated by promises by the juntas in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso to defend Niger if necessary.
The new development came after thousands of junta supporters gathered at a stadium in the capital Niamey on Sunday and welcomed the military commander’s decision not to bow to outside pressure.
On Saturday, Niger’s former colonial power France said it would support regional efforts to reverse the coup, without specifying whether this would include military assistance.
The Nigerian junta accuses France of planning a military invasion. Last week, the country broke military cooperation agreements with France, which has between 1,000 and 1,500 troops stationed in Niger.
On Saturday, the ousted Nigerian prime minister said he still hoped the coup leaders would give in to diplomatic overtures.
“We still have hope,” Paris-based Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, who was in Rome at the time of the coup, told Reuters.
“It is our understanding that President Bazoum will be dismissed and reinstated and that any institutions that may have been dissolved will be fully restored,” the prime minister said.
Also downplayed the threat of military intervention by Niger’s neighbors, saying that to get to Niger they would have to traverse groups of militants who “failed to fight”.
“So it’s an empty threat to us,” Mahamadou added.
