NEW YORK, August 8. /TASS/. The Nigerien military has deployed reinforcements to the country’s capital of Niamey to prepare for a potential military intervention, CNN reported, citing sources.
According to the news outlet, a convoy of about 40 pickup trucks arrived in the capital in the early hours of Monday, "bringing troops from other parts of the country to both reassure a nervous public and prepare for potential battle."
Earlier, Al Arabiya reported that the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, the ruling body of Niger's rebels, said that a foreign power was planning to carry out an act of aggression against Niger. The council did not specify the foreign power but stressed that it would not abandon its course despite the expiration of an ultimatum from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
ECOWAS member states discussed Niger’s coup at a summit in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on July 30. They gave the rebels a week to restore constitutional order, saying that otherwise, they would take measures that might include the use of force.
On July 26, military rebels in Niger announced the removal of President Mohamed Bazoum, closure of national borders, introduction of a curfew and suspension of the constitution, as well as a ban on political parties. On July 28, they declared that General Abdourahmane Tchiani had become head of state. During the coup, Tchiani headed the presidential guard, units of which physically seized President Bazoum and continue to hold him and his family at this residence.