Niger hangs in the balance as junta ignores ultimatum from West African bloc

Niger's coup leaders connected Monday closed its airspace aft an ultimatum from the Economic Community of West African States to reinstate elected President Mohamed Bazoum expired connected Sunday night.

The subject junta calling itself the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland seized powerfulness connected July 26 and detained Bazoum, with the commandant of the country's statesmanlike guard, General Abdourahmane Tchiani, proclaiming himself the country's caller leader.

The coup was wide condemned by the planetary community, including the U.S., the European Union, Russia and erstwhile assemblage powerfulness France, on with Nigerian-led determination assemblage ECOWAS, which besides sanctioned the junta.

Many overseas countries person already begun evacuating embassy unit and citizens from Niger, portion the likes of the U.S. and U.K. person partially suspended assistance programs.

The 15-member ECOWAS gave the subject junta 1 week to instrumentality the elected authorities to powerfulness and reconstruct law order, threatening the usage of unit if its demands were not heeded.

As the Sunday nighttime deadline loomed, thousands of Nigeriens gathered astatine a stadium successful the superior Niamey to amusement enactment for the coup leaders, portion rallying against France and different Western powers and voicing admiration for Russia.

In a connection connected nationalist tv connected Sunday, a spokesperson for the Niger junta repeated claims that a "foreign power" was preparing subject intervention, and said the country's subject stands acceptable to respond.

ECOWAS defence chiefs met precocious past week to gully up plans for a imaginable subject response, and Abdel-Fatau Musah, commissioner for governmental affairs, bid and security, said connected Friday that the bloc's heads of authorities volition marque a last decision.

"All the elements that volition spell into immoderate eventual involution person been worked retired here, including the resources needed, the however and erstwhile we are going to deploy the force," Musah said astatine the adjacent of the three-day gathering successful Abuja, Nigeria.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who besides serves arsenic seat of ECOWAS, sent a missive to the legislature connected Friday, asking members to backmost a determination involution successful the neighboring country, according to section media reports.

There were nary aircrafts seen implicit Nigerien airspace connected Monday, according to FlightRadar24, which said successful a blog station that flights already successful the aerial erstwhile the airspace closed were rerouted oregon diverted. It added that the no-fly bid is apt to beryllium extended beyond the archetypal Monday nighttime expiry.

"The closure of Niger's airspace dramatically widens the country implicit which astir commercialized flights betwixt Europe and confederate Africa cannot fly. Flights indispensable already instrumentality a detour of sorts astir Libya and Sudan," the formation tracker said.