Niger’s military rulers have announced that they had closed the country’s airspace, warning that any attempt to violate it would meet with an “energetic and immediate response”.
“Faced with the threat of intervention, which is becoming clearer through the preparation of neighbouring countries, Niger’s airspace is closed from this day on Sunday… for all aircraft until further notice,” they said in a statement.
Earlier on Sunday, thousands of coup supporters in Niger gathered for a rally to cheer on the generals claiming power, as a deadline set by the west African bloc for the military to relinquish control or face possible armed intervention was set to lapse.
The ECOWAS bloc, chaired by regional military powerhouse and Niger’s neighbour Nigeria, had given the troops that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 a week to return him to power.
But Sunday afternoon in the capital Niamey, thousands of backers of the now-ruling National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) gathered at a stadium draped in Russian flags and carrying portraits of CNSP leaders.
At 30,000-seat Seyni Kountche stadium, named after Niger’s first coup d’etat leader in 1974, CNSP leaders including General Mohamed Toumba greeted a jubilant crowd, while showing no sign of willingness to cede power.
ECOWAS military chiefs of staff agreed Friday on a plan for a possible intervention to respond to the crisis, the latest of several coups to hit Africa’s Sahel region since 2020.
“We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message clearly transmitted to them (the military) that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done,” ECOWAS commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah said.
But he warned that “all the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out”, including how and when force would be deployed.
Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara reiterated the call for the coup leaders to stand down late Sunday on the eve of his own country’s Independence Day.
“We condemn the attempted coup in Niger, which poses a serious threat to peace and security in the sub-region,” Ouattara said, adding it was “essential” to “constitutional order” that democratically elected Bazoum be allowed to govern.
Niger’s military leaders have said they will meet force with force.
Anti-French sentiment in the region is on the rise, while Russian activity, often through the Wagner mercenary group, has grown. Moscow has warned against armed intervention from outside Niger.
Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, relies heavily on foreign aid that could be pulled if Bazoum is not reinstated as head of state, Paris has warned.
Bazoum, 63, has been held by the coup leaders with his family in his official Niamey residence since July 26.
He won an election in 2021 that ushered in Niger’s first-ever transfer of power from one civilian government to another.
Nigeria has already cut electricity supplies to its neighbour Niger, raising fears for the humanitarian situation, while Niamey has closed the vast Sahel country’s borders, complicating food deliveries.
