Niamey: Leaders of the regional grouping for West Africa announced on Monday that they would meet later this week to discuss the following course of action after the military junta in Niger disobeyed a deadline to restore the country's ousted president, while its mutinous soldiers shut down the country's airspace and claimed foreign powers were preparing an attack.

According to a spokesman for the ECOWAS group, the meeting was scheduled for Thursday in Abuja, the capital of neighbouring Nigeria.

Hours before the deadline set by ECOWAS, which has threatened to use military force if the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum is not restored to power, state television reported the junta's most recent actions Sunday night.

Also Read: "Iranian Foreign Minister Makes Landmark Visit to Japan, First Since 2019

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 viewed Niger as the last significant counterterrorism partner in the Sahel, south of the Sahara Desert, where organisations affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group are growing their influence. Now, international airlines have started to divert flights around Niger.

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.

The AP observed several Burkinabe security guards at a hotel in the nation's capital.

Also Read: Chinese ambassador is summoned by the Philippines due to the South China Sea incident

Since the coup in Niger nearly two weeks ago, when mutinous soldiers detained Bazoum and installed Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, the former commander of the presidential guard, as leader of the 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.

The junta doesn't seem to be interested in bargaining. Last week, an ECOWAS delegation was sent to Niger for several hours of negotiations, but they were not permitted to leave the airport and only met with Tchiani's representatives.

According to journalist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Centre Wassim Nasr, the junta has also requested assistance from the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which operates in a few African nations, including Mali.

According to US officials, Bazoum is still reachable, and they last spoke to him on Monday.
According to two officials, US President Joe Biden's administration plans to keep a military and diplomatic presence in Niger for the foreseeable future.

The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic discussions, said that the administration is still debating whether the developments qualify as a coup. They claimed that the military authorities in Niger still had time to change their minds.

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.

According to former extremist fighter Boubacar Moussa, who spoke to the AP, extremists have been ecstatic since the coup because they can now move about more freely without worrying about being attacked. He had enrolled in a national initiative that supports fighters who want to quit and rejoin society. The future of the programme is unknown.

At least ten phone calls from militants who are still active in the Tillaberi region close to the Mali border, according to Moussa, claimed there is no reason to be concerned about airstrikes. According to him, if ECOWAS launches a military operation, they will probably attack Niamey, the country's capital.

Thousands of people cheered junta leaders who promised to reward their loyalty at a rally on Sunday.

"We stand by you as you fight them. Brigadier General Mohamed Toumba stated, "We will give you the Niger that you are owed. Following his speech, rally attendees beheaded a chicken painted with the flag of the country that had once colonised it.

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. 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.

Also Read: Ex-Minister Urges UK's Foreign Secretary Cleverly: Halt Funding for Syrian Detention Centers

"ECOWAS didn't step in while they (extremists) 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."