Niger junta closes airspace as ECOWAS deadline expires

A deadline set by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for coup leaders in Niger to restore power to ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired on Sunday, August 6, 2023, raising the prospect of military intervention in the West African country.

As the deadline approached, military leadership announced it was closing the country’s airspace due to the “threat of intervention”.

Niger was waiting on Monday for a response from the West African regional bloc after coup leaders in Niamey ignored a deadline to reinstate the ousted president – a move the bloc has warned could lead it to authorise a military intervention.

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ECOWAS has said it will issue a statement on its next steps in response to the junta’s refusal to cave in to external pressure to stand down by Sunday following the July 26 power grab.

The bloc has taken a hard stance on the region’s seventh coup in three years.

Given its uranium and oil riches and its pivotal role in a war with Islamist militants, Niger also holds importance for the U.S., Europe, China, and Russia.

On Sunday as the deadline expired, the junta closed its airspace until further notice, citing the increased threat of military intervention.

An escalation in the standoff with ECOWAS would further destabilise one of the world’s poorest regions, which is in the grip of a hunger crisis and battling an insurgency that has killed thousands and forced millions to flee.

The Star