The leaders of Niger junta have given neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso armies permission to intervene should the need arise.
The authority was issued when the self-acclaimed Niger leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, on Thursday received the foreign ministers of both countries, Olivia Rouamba and Abdoulaye Diop, at the country’s capital, Niamey.
The foreign ministers welcomed the signing of the order permitting the armies of Mali and Burkina Faso to “to intervene on Niger territory in the event of aggression”.
This was read out in a statement by the deputy secretary general of the Niger Republic’s foreign ministry.
This comes on the heels of the decision from African bloc, ECOWAS, to use military force to restore Niger to civilian leadership if peace talks fail.
Niger’s democratically elected President, Mohamed Bazoum, was ousted by the junta on July 26 and placed under arrest, sparking outrage from the international community.
The military coup makes Niger the fourth country to suffer a coup since 2020, after Mali and Burkina Faso.
The two neighbouring West African states have stated that any military move taken against Niger will be regarded as a “declaration of war” against them.
And Tchiani warned in a televised address on Saturday: “If an attack were to be undertaken against us, it will not be the walk in the park some people seem to think.”
French President Emmanuel Macron has also joined the ECOWAS to urge the Niger junta to relinquish power to democratic leadership.
The military leaders of the Niger coup are facing widespread condemnation from various quarters, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the United States, and the UN, over their announcement to prosecute deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.
The move is seen as contradictory to the professed commitment of the Niger junta to resolving the crisis through peaceful means.
In a late Sunday statement, the Niger junta leaders who removed Bazoum claimed to possess evidence that would allow them to charge him with high treason and subverting both the internal and external security of Niger.