Reports reaching the desk of Africa Today News, New York has it that Niger Republic have closed the country’s airspace until further notice, citing the threat of military intervention from their neighbours as the reason for their actions.
A check on the flight tracking website Flightradar24 indicates that there are currently no aircraft in Niger’s skies.
This is coming days after the West African group of countries, ECOWAS, sent a warning that it could use force if President Mohamed Bazoum was not reinstated by 23:00 GMT on Sunday.
According to a spokesperson for the junta, the armed forces of Niger are prepared to protect the nation.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that Mr Bazoum was detained on the 26th of July, and Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, commander of the presidential guard, later proclaimed himself the new leader.
The military takeover has been internationally condemned, including by former colonial power France and the rest of the European Union, as well as the United Nations and the United States.
Reading a statement on national television on Sunday, the representative from Niger’s junta said they had information that “a foreign power” was preparing to attack Niger.
After a crisis meeting in Nigeria, Ecowas military chiefs said on Friday they had drawn up a detailed plan for the possible use of force.
‘All the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out here, including the resources needed, the how and when we are going deploy the force,’ said Abdel-Fatau Musah, Ecowas commissioner for political affairs, peace and security.
And he added: ‘We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message clearly transmitted to them [Niger’s junta] that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done’.
They issued their ultimatum a week ago, demanding the generals relinquish power by midnight local time, which has now passed.
Ecowas is a regional trading bloc of 15 West African countries, including Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and Ghana.
The coup leaders seem to be showing no sign of willingness to cede power, and on Sunday thousands of their supporters rallied defiantly at a stadium in Niger’s capital Niamey.
Two of Niger’s neighbours – Burkina Faso and Mali – earlier warned they would treat any outside military intervention in Niger as ‘a declaration of war’ against them. Burkina Faso and Mali are both Ecowas members but have been suspended from the bloc since being ruled by military juntas.
Niger is a significant uranium producer – a fuel that is vital for nuclear power – and under Mr Bazoum was a key Western ally in the fight against Islamist militants in West Africa’s Sahel region.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu will most likely be holding a second meeting with leaders of ECOWAS in the coming days as the one-week ultimatum issued to the military junta in Niger Republic ended Sunday midnight.
A presidential aide said Tinubu, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, might convene another meeting to take a final decision on the resolutions reached at the June 30 meeting of the regional body in Abuja.
Speaking on Sunday, the source who does not want to be named, said the ECOWAS would meet again in Abuja to decide on the next line of action.