RABAT, August 7. /TASS/. The National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, the ruling authority of Niger’s rebels, said a foreign country is preparing the aggression against this African nation, the Al Arabiya TV channel said.
"A foreign state is preparing to move on our lands," the Council said, without detailing what specific country was meant. "We are preparing for a possible foreign military operation," it added.
The Council also stressed it "will not give up its steps, despite the expiration of the ultimatum of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)."
On July 30, ECOWAS members condemned the coup in Niger at their summit in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, and gave the mutineers a week to restore constitutional order, threatening to take measures up to a military intervention.