Niger’s junta closes airspace and accuses neighbours of invading as deadline passes.

NIGERIA: The junta in Niger has ignored a deadline to reinstate the ousted president and declared any attempt to fly over the country will be greeted with “an energetic and immediate response.” Mutinous soldiers have shut down the country’s airspace and accused foreign powers of organising an attack.

Hours before the deadline set by the West African regional group ECOWAS, which has threatened to use military force if the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum is not restored to power, state television confirmed the move on Sunday night.

Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, a spokesman for the coup leaders, mentioned “the threat of intervention being prepared in a neighbouring country” and declared that Niger’s airspace will be shut down until further notice. The junta urged the populace to protect the nation and claimed that two central African nations are preparing for an attack, without specifying which ones.

In the vast Sahel region, south of the Sahara Desert, where organisations affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group are growing their influence, international airlines have started to divert flights around Niger’s airspace, which the United States and others had previously viewed as the last major counterterrorism partner. The immediate future of the 1,100 American military soldiers stationed in Niger is unknown.

The armed forces in Mali announced today that a delegation of officials would be travelling to Niger to demonstrate support on behalf of Mali and Burkina Faso, two countries that border Niger and are ruled by military juntas. Both nations have stated that any interference in Niger would be viewed as a “declaration of war” against them.

Since the coup in Niger over two weeks ago, when the mutinous soldiers detained Bazoum and appointed Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, the former commander of the presidential guard, as head of state, regional tensions have increased. According to analysts, a power struggle between Tchiani and the president, who was preparing to remove him, is what ultimately led to the coup.

What ECOWAS will do now that the deadline of Sunday has gone is not yet known. A course of action has divided the area. The most likely point of entrance by land, the border between Niger and Nigeria, showed no signs of military forces assembling.

On Saturday, the Nigerian Senate opposed the invasion plan and urged the country’s president, who also serves as the bloc’s current leader, to consider other options. Since final decisions are reached by consensus among member nations, ECOWAS can still proceed.

An ex-officer of the British army who served in Nigeria claimed that on Monday, military leaders there informed him that President Bolu Tinubu had not authorised the use of military action. Due to the sensitivity of the issue, he talked on the condition of anonymity.

Guinea and the bordering country Algeria, which is not a member of ECOWAS, have spoken out against using force. The government of Senegal has stated that it would take part in a military action if it went forward, while the government of Ivory Coast has backed the efforts of ECOWAS 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 officials.

Thousands of people praised junta leaders who said they would not betray their devotion during a gathering on Sunday.

“We stand by you while you fight them. Brigadier General Mohamed Toumba stated, “We will give you the Niger that you are owed. The AP witnessed rally attendees beheading a chicken painted in the colours of erstwhile coloniser France after his address.

The junta has severed security relations with France, which continues to station 1,500 military soldiers in Niger for counterterrorism purposes, and is using anti-French emotions in the populace to strengthen its base of support. The French foreign ministry officially forbade Monday travel to Niger, Burkina Faso, or Mali and advised French nationals to exercise extreme caution.