Following their rejection of a demand from West African nations that they either restore deposed President Mohamed Bazoum or risk military intervention, the coup leaders in Niger have blocked the nation’s airspace.
The decision was made late on Sunday, as hundreds of supporters of the generals who took over, also known as the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), assembled at a stadium in Niamey, the capital of Niger.
Amadou Abdramane, a spokesman for the CNSP, justified the shutdown of the airspace by citing ECOWAS’s threat of military action.
Abdramane said there had been a pre-deployment of military personnel in two Central African countries in preparation for involvement in a statement read out on national television, but he did not provide details.
“In the face of 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,” he said.
“Niger’s armed forces and all our defence and security forces, backed by the unfailing support of our people, are ready to defend the integrity of our territory,” he added.
The July 26 coup in Niger was the seventh in West and Central Africa over the previous three years. It has shaken the Sahel region of Africa, one of the world’s poorest regions and a battleground for armed groups with ties to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).
In addition to harsh travel and economic restrictions, such as cutting off Niger’s electricity supplies, ECOWAS has denounced the coup. The defense chiefs of the bloc have reached an agreement on a potential military action plan, that specifies when and where to strike if the country’s jailed leader is not freed and given a new position by Sunday.
The ECOWAS has not specified what its upcoming actions will be or how precisely on Sunday its deadline will pass.