Pressure is mounting on the leaders of a coup in Niger before a deadline set by other West African leaders for the military to relinquish control or face possible armed intervention.
The Ecowas bloc has given the junta until Sunday to return Niger's elected President Mohamed Bazoum to power, but so far it shows no sign of complying.
France – Niger's former coloniser, which until the junta took power still had close military ties with the country – said it would "firmly" back whatever course of action Ecowas took.
The bloc has agreed a plan for a possible intervention, it said following emergency talks between its military chiefs. That includes "how and when we are going to deploy the force", said Ecowas commissioner for political affairs, peace and security Abdel-Fatau Musah.
But he stressed: "We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message clearly transmitted to them [the junta] that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done."
Junta defiant
Under the Ecowas plan, the decision of when and where to strike will be made by heads of state, according to Musah.
It is not clear which West African forces would participate in a possible military operation in Niger, nor whether they would receive support from countries outside the region.
Chad, which borders Niger and is not a member of Ecowas, confirmed on Saturday that it would "never intervene by military means".
"We favour dialogue... Chad is a mediator," defence minister Daoud Yaya Brahim said.
An Ecowas delegation was also visiting Algeria and Libya this weekend to drum up support from important regional players ahead of any possible military action. Both countries share borders with Niger.
While condemning the coup, Algeria's government has indicated that it would oppose an intervention.
Meanwhile Niger's junta has warned it would meet force with force.
The military has called on the population to watch for spies, and self-organised defence groups have mobilised at night to patrol the capital, Niamey.
Mali and Burkina Faso, where military juntas have also taken power since 2020, have warned any regional intervention in Niger would be tantamount to a "declaration of war" against them.
Regional security
Bazoum has been held by military officers in his official residence in Niamey since being overthrown on 26 July.
Until then, Niger was seen as the West's last trusted counterterrorism partner in a region where coups have been common in recent years.
"Not only has President Bazoum been taken hostage but also the population of Niger," France's defence minister Sebastien Lecornu told French news agency AFP.
"This putsch will weaken the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, where activity by armed terrorist groups is resurging, notably taking advantage of certain failed states like Mali."
(with newswires)
