Niger’s coup junta closes airspace after denouncing signs of imminent regional intervention

2023-08-06 23:49:26

MADRID, 6 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Niger military junta announced this Sunday the closure of the national airspace after assuring that the forces of two unidentified countries in the region have entered a “pre-deployment” situation that the coup leaders interpret as a prelude to a military intervention.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had given the coup junta until this Sunday to restore constitutional order without ruling out the possibility of armed action to achieve this objective.

The Nigerien military have warned of any type of incursion into the country and this same Sunday they have assured that they “will not back down” in their intentions.

Tonight, and in a speech before the nation, the military spokesman, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, thus announced that “two ECOWAS countries are carrying out pre-deployment activities in preparation for a potential military intervention.”

“Any country involved will be considered a co-belligerent,” added the colonel before accusing “a foreign power” of “preparing to attack Niger in collaboration with ECOWAS and armed terrorist groups,” according to the speech collected by the Actuniger portal.

The colonel has not identified this “power” but the junta has used this designation on other occasions to refer to France, the former colonial power.

The National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland, the official name of the junta, “underlines the importance of respecting the sovereignty of the country and urges all countries to refrain from taking actions that may aggravate the current situation.”