France said it would support efforts to overturn Niger's military coup, a day after West Africa's regional bloc ECOWAS said it had a plan for military intervention
NIAMEY -Niger’s ousted prime minister on Saturday clung to the dimming hope that last week’s military coup could be overturned by diplomacy, he told Reuters on the eve of a deadline set by regional powers to reinstate the elected government.
Defence chiefs from the Economic Community of West African States have drawn up a plan for military action if the coup leaders do not reinstate elected President Mohamed Bazoum, currently being held by the military at his residence in Niamey, by Sunday. “We are still hopeful,” said Mahamadou, who was in Rome when the coup occurred. “We expect President Bazoum to be released, reinstated, and all institutions that were allegedly dissolved to be restored in their entirety.”
Meanwhile ECOWAS’ options, which range from a ground invasion to aiding a homegrown counter-coup, all risk stoking insecurity.Mahamadou said that he was in contact with Bazoum, but questioned how the ousted president, who two weeks ago was residing unhindered in a palace, was being treated. ECOWAS may face resistance. Niger’s neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, where military juntas have also seized power in recent years, said they would support Niger in the event of military intervention.
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