Leaders of the bloc of West African states known as ECOWAS have agreed on a plan for military intervention in Niger unless coup leaders restore civilian rule by Sunday.
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00:00 West African military chiefs have agreed a plan for a possible intervention in Niger
00:04 as a Sunday deadline approaches for the country's military to restore civilian rule. The Economic
00:10 Community of West African States, known as ECOWAS, met in the Nigerian capital Abuja
00:15 on Friday.
00:16 "We are determined to stop it. But ECOWAS is not going to tell the coup plotters when
00:22 and where we are going to strike. That is an operational decision that will be taken
00:30 by the head of state."
00:32 On Thursday, a delegation of mediators from ECOWAS left the Niger capital Niami without
00:38 meeting the coup leader General Thiani, who seized power in the former French colony last
00:42 week taking hostage the country's president, Mohamed Bazoum. There is clearly some support
00:47 for the coup, but observers say it's not clear just how much. Rallies backing the military
00:52 takeover have been relatively small. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it regrets
00:57 what it called an "authoritarian repression" being imposed on Niger.
01:01 [BLANK_AUDIO]