Niamey: The democratically elected president of Niger, a West African nation, was reportedly denied permission to meet with a senior US diplomat on Monday by coup leaders, who she described as being placed under "virtual house arrest."
The mutinous officers, according to acting deputy secretary of state Victoria Nuland, are resistant to US pressure to put the nation back under civilian rule.

Reporters were informed by Nuland that "they were quite firm about how they want to proceed, and it is not in support of the constitution of Niger." The discussions, according to her, were "extremely frank and at times quite difficult."

She spoke following a two-hour meeting with some military coup leaders in Niamey, the capital of the Niger, a key ally of the US in the fight against terrorism.

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According to Nuland, she made "absolutely clear the kinds of support that we will legally have to cut off if democracy is not restored" when speaking with junta leaders.

Federal law mandates a suspension of the majority of American assistance, especially military aid, if the US determines that a democratically elected government was overthrown using unconstitutional means.

She added that the US was concerned about President Mohamed Bazoum's welfare because he was being held in detention along with his wife and son.

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Three of the colonels involved in the takeover as well as Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou, an officer trained in the United States, attended the meeting. Abdourahamane Tchiani, the former head of the presidential guard and the coup's top commander, declined to meet with the Americans.

Other recent developments Leaders of the regional bloc for West Africa announced on Monday that they would meet later this week to talk about what should be done after the junta disregarded a deadline to restore the president. According to a spokesman for the ECOWAS group, the meeting was scheduled for Thursday in Abuja, the capital of neighbouring Nigeria.

The nation's airspace was shut down while the junta's rebellious soldiers claimed that foreign nations were planning an attack.
Hours before the deadline set by ECOWAS, which has threatened to use military force if Bazoum is not restored to power, state television reported the junta's most recent actions on Sunday night.

Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, a spokesman for the coup leaders, mentioned "the threat of intervention being prepared in a neighbouring country" and announced that Niger's airspace will be shut down until further notice. Any attempt to fly over the nation will result in "an energetic and immediate response."

In addition, the junta claimed that two countries in central Africa were getting ready for an invasion but did not specify which ones. It urged the people of Niger to stand up for their country.

Bazoum's ascent was Niger's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since the country gained independence from France in 1960; however, the coup toppled him. The coup also raised concerns about the future of the anti-extremism campaign in the Sahel, an area of Africa where Russia and Western nations have fought for dominance.

The United States and others had previously viewed Niger as the last significant counterterrorism ally in the Sahel, south of the Sahara Desert, where organisations affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group are growing in power.

Also on Monday, Mali announced that delegations would be sent to Niger to show support. Mali and Burkina Faso are both Niger's neighbours and are both ruled by military juntas. Both nations have stated that any intervention in Niger would be viewed as a declaration of war against them.

Since the coup nearly two weeks ago, when mutinous soldiers detained Bazoum and installed Tchiani as head of state, regional tensions have increased. According to analysts, a power struggle between Tchiani and the president, who was about to fire him, led to the coup.

It was unclear right away what the ECOWAS leaders will do. A course of action has divided the area. The most likely point of entry by land, the border between Niger and Nigeria, showed no signs of military forces assembling.

The Nigerian Senate has opposed the invasion plan and urged the country's president, who is also the bloc's current chair, to consider other options. Since final decisions are reached by consensus among member states, ECOWAS can still proceed.

Guinea and the nearby country of Algeria, which is not a member of ECOWAS, have spoken out against using force. The government of Senegal has declared that it would take part in a military operation if it went forward, and the government of Ivory Coast has backed the bloc's efforts to restore constitutional order.
Wassim Nasr, a journalist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Centre, claims that the junta has requested assistance from the Russian mercenary group Wagner.

Nuland noted that, unlike several neighbouring unstable West African nations, the coup leaders did not appear open to receiving Wagner mercenaries into the nation.

"I will say that I got the sense from my meetings today that the people who have taken the action here understand very well the risks to their sovereignty when Wagner is invited," said Nuland.

The junta has severed security ties with France, which still has 1,500 military personnel in Niger for counterterrorism efforts, and is using anti-French sentiments to strengthen its base of support.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially forbade French citizens from visiting Niger, Burkina Faso, or Mali on Monday and advised them to travel there with extreme caution. French aid to Burkina Faso has been suspended at almost $500 million ($550 million).

What will happen to the French military presence and the 1,100 US soldiers stationed in Niger is unclear.

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Many people, mainly young people, have united behind the junta and are patrolling the streets at night after being urged to be vigilant against foreign meddling.

"ECOWAS didn't step in while they (jihadists) killed our brothers and sisters. Will they step in right away? At the rally on Sunday, coup supporter Amadou Boukari said. "ECOWAS is to blame."