Niger’s newly installed junta said it would respond immediately to any “aggression or attempted aggression” against it by West African countries, three days before the expiry of an ultimatum to restore order given by a regional bloc.
The landlocked nation is the fourth member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) hit by a putsch since 2020. ECOWAS has threatened the potential use of force if the junta does not restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum by Sunday, and military chiefs of the bloc’s member countries met in Nigeria on Wednesday for three days of consultations. “Any aggression or attempted aggression against the State of Niger will see an immediate and unannounced response from the Niger Defence and Security Forces on one of (the bloc’s) members, with the exception of suspended friendly countries,” one of the putschists said in a statement read on national television, alluding to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali.—INP
