West Africa's Ecowas bloc has rejected a call by Niger's coup leaders for a three-year transition back to democracy. The body is putting together a standby force for a potential military intervention.
New military ruler General Abdourahamane Tchiani has declared he will hold off a return to civilian rule after army officers toppled President Mohamed Bazoum last month.
His announcement came after a delegation from Ecowas, which has threatened to use force to reinstate Bazoum, visited Niger in a final diplomatic push.
Abdel-Fatau Musah, Ecowas commissioner for politics and security, described the proposal of a three-year transition as "a joke" and said the bloc would "never accept it".
"We want constitutional order to be restored as soon as possible," he told Al Jazeera in an interview broadcast on Monday.
"Military action is not off the table."
In a televised address on Saturday, Tchiani accused Ecowas of preparing to attack Niger by setting up an occupying force in collaboration with a foreign army, without referencing which country.
"If an attack were to be undertaken against us, it will not be the walk in the park some people seem to think," he said.
Standby force
Ecowas leaders say they have to act now that Niger has become the fourth West African nation since 2020 to suffer a coup, following Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali.
"We say we need a very short transition period ... but we are not even talking about one year. It's going to be a lot shorter than that," said Ecowas commissioner Musah.
"We had the same experiences with the three coups in the region in the past three years. Even as we speak those countries are still talking of extending the transition period already agreed with Ecowas.
"We are not going to start another round of endless negotiations."
The bloc has agreed to activate a "standby force" as a last resort to restore democracy in Niger.
It has said it is ready to act, although it is still pursuing diplomacy and has given no date or details about any intervention.
Unlike a previous Ecowas mission in early August, this time the delegation held talks with Tchiani and also met Bazoum, who is being held with his family at the presidential palace and could be facing treason charges.
The African Union announced on Tuesday that it did 'take note' of the Ecowas decision to prepare a standby force, and suspended Niger "from all activities of the AU and its Organs and institutions until the effective restoration of constitutional order in the country."
Dire humanitarian situation
Meanwhile, the United Nations food agency has expressed concern that sanctions and border closures linked to the political crisis were "greatly affecting the supply of vital foods and medical supplies into Niger".
Ecowas imposed sanctions on Niger while Benin and Nigeria have closed their borders.
Burkina Faso, also suspended from Ecowas after a coup, has been quick to show its support for the new regime in Niger.
It sent a convoy of around 300 supply trucks to Niger's capital Niamey on Monday.
Regional customs director Colonel Adamou Zaroumeye said the products provided included maise, salt and household goods.
"More than two million children have been impacted by the crisis and are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance," Unicef's Niger representative Stefano Savi said.
Unicef also said it was worried about the loss of electricity in the country, which was crucial for keeping childhood vaccines and other essentials chilled.
It also expressed concern for 21 containers of "life-saving supplies" that it said were stuck at the border in Benin and the port of Cotonou.
Another 29 containers for Niger carrying emergency food and syringesare currently at sea.
(with newswires)
