West African nations were to determine a potential intervention if Niger's coup is not overturned by the weekend after mediation failed in a crisis troubling global powers
pacts with former colonial power France, as neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso did after their coups.
France has between 1,000-1,500 troops in Niger, supported by drones and warplanes, helping battle groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State in the Sahel region. The United States, Germany and Italy also haveNiger's armed forces chief acknowledged in January that cooperation with Western powers had been helping in the fight.
The 15-member regional bloc sent a delegation to Niamey on Thursday seeking an "amicable resolution", but a source in the entourage said a meeting at the airport with the junta's representatives yielded no breakthrough. ECOWAS has threatened to use force if Bazoum is not back in power by Sunday. Its defence chiefs were ending a days-long meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Friday.
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