Niamey: On the eve of the military's deadline to give up power or face possible armed intervention, a West African bloc applied increasing pressure to the leaders of the coup in Niger on Saturday.
France, a former colonial power that the junta severed military ties with soon after seizing control, declared that it would "firmly" support whatever course of action the ECOWAS bloc took after the Sunday deadline had passed.
The latest of several coups to strike Africa's Sahel region since 2020, military chiefs from the grouping claimed they had reached agreement on a strategy for a potential intervention in response to the crisis.
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After the talks, ECOWAS commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah said, "All the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out."
In addition to "the resources needed, and including the how and when we are going to deploy the force," he continued. The junta needs to know that we are giving them every chance to undo their actions, Musah said. "We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message to be clearly transmitted to them (the junta)," he added.
Paris stated that "the future of Niger and the stability of the entire region are at stake" as tension increased over the future of one of the world's poorest nations.
France and the US stationed roughly 1,500 and 1,000 troops in Niger, respectively, as part of Western strategies to combat an insurgency that has plagued the Sahel since 2012.
Russian activity, frequently through the Wagner mercenary group, has increased while anti-French sentiment in the area is on the rise. Russia has issued a caution against outside armed intervention. The junta has threatened to use force in response to force.
Military coups have been in power in Mali and Burkina Faso since 2020, and they have threatened that any regional intervention would amount to a "declaration of war" against them.
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Since July 26, President Mohamed Bazoum, 63, and his family have been detained by the coup plotters in their official Niamey residence. His first lengthy statement since being detained was a column he wrote for The Washington Post on Thursday, in which he claimed that a successful putsch would "have devastating consequences for our country, our region, and the entire world."
The first-ever transfer of power from one civilian government to another in Niger occurred in 2021 after Bazoum won an election. Bazoum pleaded with "the US government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order."
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Niamey has closed the vast Sahel country's borders, complicating food deliveries, and Nigeria has cut electricity supplies to its neighbour Niger, raising concerns for the humanitarian situation there.
Although some aid initiatives have been suspended, Washington assured that "life-saving humanitarian and food assistance will continue.