Iran Press/ Africa: Niger's former colonizer, France, has become the center of growing public outrage as Nigerien citizens are increasingly calling for the expulsion of the French army from their country and ending Paris' decades-long hegemony over the country's political and economic policies.
The French military base in Niamey holds 1,500 French troops.
The French soldiers were on alert in their military base in Niamey as the people of Niger gathered outside the base to show their anger.
"We are going to make the French leave! ECOWAS isn't independent, it's being manipulated by France, there's an outside influence," said Aziz Rabeh Ali, a member of the students' union who was taking part in the demonstrations, according to AFP.
The new leadership under Abdourahamane Tchiani last week annulled a slew of military cooperation agreements with the European country and halted uranium and gold exports to its former colonizer.
West-affiliated ECOWAS members said they would be deploying a "standby force" as part of their plan to carry out the military action, while the country's chiefs of staff will hold a meeting on Friday to finalize the plans.
Following the announcement, Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara revealed that ECOWAS has approved a military attack on Niger "as soon as possible" to remove the new leadership and restore Western-backed President Mohamed Bazoum.
Russia raises the alarm
Amid increasing reports about a near attack, Russia warned on Friday against any military action against Niger, stressing that this might lead to a "sharp destabilization" of the situation "in the Sahara-Sahel region as a whole."
US will not evacuate foreigners
Meanwhile, the United States Africa Command AFRICOM said measures are being taken to protect their personnel stationed in Niger, including embassy diplomats and 1,000 soldiers stationed in a US military base near the country's capital.
Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gathered in the capital of Nigeria, Abuja, on Thursday once again and emphasized the military intervention to restore the democratic government in Niger.
On Saturday, military leaders from West African nations will gather in Ghana's capital to discuss the possibility of military intervention in Niger.
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