Niger's military rulers, who seized control of the government in July, gave the French ambassador 48 hours to leave the country, Niamey's foreign ministry said in a statement Friday.France's government quickly rejected the order against its ambassador, repeating that it did not recognise the military rulers' authority.
Military chiefs from the West African bloc ECOWAS will meet in Ghana this week to discuss possible intervention in Niger, military and political sources in the region said Tuesday.Those talks came after the ECOWAS military meeting in Ghana was postponed for "technical reasons".
Efforts by West Africa's bloc ECOWAS and the United States to parlay with Niger's new rulers made no headway on Tuesday ahead of a regional summit to mull options that include military intervention.The bloc sought to send a delegation to Niamey on Tuesday ahead of the crisis summit on Thursday in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.
Nigeria's president has not ruled out military intervention in neighbouring Niger after its president was ousted in a coup but believes diplomacy is the "best way forward" to resolve the crisis, his spokesman said Tuesday.Mali and Burkina Faso sent letters Tuesday to the United Nations and the African Union, calling on them to prevent "military intervention against Niger" where the security and humanitarian consequences of such action "would be unpredictable".
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Niger's military rulers were on Monday in defiance of an ultimatum to restore the elected government as the threat of possible military intervention was still on the table.Just before the ultimatum expired on Sunday, Niger's military rulers closed the Sahel country's airspace and warned any attempt to enter it would meet with an "energetic and immediate response".