Niamey: In a nationally televised speech on Wednesday night, Niger's new military ruler attacked the nation's neighbours and the international community while urging the populace to be prepared to defend it.

Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani issued a rare speech to the nation of West Africa after taking over from the democratically elected leader of Niger a week prior, in which he cautioned against outside interference and military action to put down the coup.

In order to defeat those who want to inflict unspeakable suffering on our hard-working populations and destabilise our nation, Tchiani said, "we call on the people of Niger as a whole and their unity."

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Tchiani, who is in charge of Niger's presidential guard, also vowed to make it possible for peaceful elections to replace President Mohamed Bazoum.

The West African regional group ECOWAS has threatened to use military force if Bazoum isn't released from house arrest and reinstated by August 6; this is the context in which Bazoum is giving his speech. The bloc has enacted harsh travel and financial restrictions.

Western nations have strongly denounced the coup; many of them saw Niger as their last trustworthy ally in the fight against jihadis associated with Al-Qaeda and the Daesh organisation in Africa's Sahel region. Russia and Western nations have been competing for sway in the anti-extremism movement.

The United States and other European nations have assisted in the nation's military's training, and France has 1,500 soldiers in Niger who participate in joint operations with the country's military.

Tchiani claimed that challenging times are ahead for Niger and that the "hostile and radical" attitudes of those who disagree with his rule add nothing to the situation. He referred to the ECOWAS sanctions as unlawful, unfair, inhumane, and unprecedented.

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The heated rhetoric came as a fourth French military evacuation flight departed Niger, following announcements by France, Italy, and Spain that their citizens and other Europeans in Niamey would be evacuated due to fears that they could become trapped.

According to the French ministry of foreign affairs, nearly 1,000 people have evacuated on four flights, and a fifth flight is currently in the air.

On Wednesday, a 99-passenger Italian military plane touched down in Rome with 21 Americans and other civilians among them, according to the Italian defence ministry. The flights, according to Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, were authorised by the newly elected government of Niger.

As a precaution, the State Department ordered the temporary departure from Niger of some family members and non-essential embassy personnel on Wednesday. It declared that its embassy would stay open. With the assistance of the Europeans, some American citizens have already departed.

In order to discuss next steps, the ECOWAS defence chiefs' two-day meeting began on Wednesday in the capital of Nigeria. The meeting in Abuja, according to Abdel-Fatau Musah, the bloc's commissioner for political affairs, peace, and stability, would address how to "negotiate with the officers in the hostage situation that we find ourselves in the Republic of Niger."

Niger, which, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, receives up to 90% of its power from the neighbouring Nigeria, was one of the countries targeted by the sanctions that ECOWAS announced on Sunday.

According to a representative of one of Nigeria's major electricity companies who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment on the situation, power transmission from Nigeria to Niger was interrupted on Tuesday. The official did not specify how much of Niger's power was lost, but any decrease would worsen living conditions for its more than 25 million citizens.

As part of their ongoing efforts to reverse the armed takeover, US officials called the president of Niger late on Tuesday to express their "continued unwavering support." Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Washington's long-standing counterterrorism investments in Niger, including a significant air base in Agadez that is essential to operations against armed extremists throughout the Sahara and Sahel, would be at risk if the US withdrew from the West African nation. Approximately 1,000 US military personnel are stationed in Niger, where they assist in some Nigerien forces' training.

The risk of abandoning Niger is that it will come under the control of Russia and its Wagner mercenary group, which is already heavily represented in Mali, the Central African Republic, and Sudan.

As part of their ongoing efforts to reverse the armed takeover, US officials called the president of Niger late on Tuesday to express their "continued unwavering support." Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Washington's long-standing counterterrorism investments in Niger, including a significant air base in Agadez that is essential to operations against armed extremists throughout the Sahara and Sahel, would be at risk if the US withdrew from the West African nation. Approximately 1,000 US military personnel are stationed in Niger, where they assist in some Nigerien forces' training.

The risk of abandoning Niger is that it will come under the control of Russia and its Wagner mercenary group, which is already heavily represented in Mali, the Central African Republic, and Sudan.

According to the envoy, Leonardo Santos Simao, "one week can be more than enough if everyone talks in good faith and wants to avoid bloodshed." Nevertheless, he continued, "different member states are preparing themselves to use force if necessary."

Military intervention, according to other members of the diplomatic community, is a viable option.
According to a Western diplomat in Niamey who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, ECOWAS is determined to use military force because financial and travel sanctions have not been successful in undoing previous coup attempts.

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An activist group known as the M62 Movement, which has organised pro-Russian and anti-French demonstrations, urged Niamey citizens to organise and block the airport until foreign military personnel leave the nation.

The group's national coordinator, Mahaman Sanoussi, said in a statement that "any evacuation of Europeans (should be) conditional on the immediate departure of foreign military forces."