Niger coup leaders announce new govt as ECOWAS summit discusses next steps

The military leaders in Niger who seized power in a coup last month have formed a new government, according to a decree read out on national television.

Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine will lead the 21-member government, with generals from the new military governing council heading the defence and interior ministries, according to the decree issued on Thursday.

The move came as West African heads of state hold a summit aiming to agree on a plan of action for Niger.

The coup leaders have refused to stand down despite the bloc's threat that it could use force to restore democracy.

Since the July 26 power grab shocked the region, the defiant junta has rebuffed diplomatic overtures and ignored an Aug. 6 deadline from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to reinstate ousted president Mohamed Bazoum.

Pivotal meeting

The meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, could prove a pivotal moment in the standoff. The bloc's leaders are expected to agree on next steps, which could include military intervention - something an ECOWAS official has said would be a last resort.

Envoys of the Nigerian president, and ECOWAS chair, Bola Tinubu met coup leaders in the capital, Niamey, on Wednesday, offering a glimmer of hope for dialogue after previous missions were spurned.

Any escalation would further destabilise West Africa's Sahel region, one of the world's poorest, where a long-running insurgency has displaced millions and stoked a hunger crisis.

The coup was triggered by internal politics but it has evolved into an international entanglement, with ECOWAS, the United Nations and Western countries putting pressure on the junta to stand down, while military governments in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso have vowed to defend it.