Military Chiefs who orchestrated the coup in Niger, have cautioned the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) not to send soldiers to Niger.
General Abdourahmane Tchiani, the commander of Niger’s presidential guard, declared himself president, although the country’s elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, has been detained by the military since the coup plotters took over power last week.
In a statement carried on Niger’s national television, Niger’s military commanders advised against any military action.
According to Colonel Amadou Abdramane, the spokesperson of the military, “The objective of the ECOWAS meeting is to approve a plan of aggression against Niger through an imminent military intervention in Niamey in collaboration with other African countries that are non-members of ECOWAS and certain Western countries.”
During the meeting, the ECOWAS imposed a seven-day deadline on Niger’s military junta to reinstate President Bazoum as a democratically elected President or face a slew of harsh sanctions.
It also charged the member-state Chiefs of Defense Staff with convening an emergency conference to plan effective ways to carry out a possible military operation to restore constitutional order.
ECOWAS, which recognized Bazoum as the rightful President of the country, threatened the Niger Republic with land border closures and a no-fly zone if the military coup leaders did not heed its ultimatum.
