Niger junta delegation arrives in Mali's Bamako

General Salifou Modi, one of the officers who seized power in Niger last week, arrived in neighbouring Mali, whose junta has supported the coup leaders in the face of international pressure, sources said.

Mody, a former army chief of staff who had been fired in April, arrived on Wednesday in the capital Bamako at the head of a delegation, a senior Nigerien official and a Malian security official told AFP news agency.

They did not give further details.

Niger's junta has come under pressure from the international community while the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has threatened potential use of force if the junta, which is led by General Abdourahmane Tiani, does not restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum by Sunday.

The military chiefs of ECOWAS member countries are due to meet in Nigeria on Wednesday for three days of consultations.

A delegation led by former Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar is also expected in Niger on Wednesday.

The ruling juntas of Mali and Burkina Faso — which seized power in 2020 and 2022, respectively — warned in a joint statement on Monday that they would view military intervention in Niger as a "declaration of war" against their own countries.

All three Sahel countries are racked by extremist insurgencies and insecurity.

Europeans evacuated

France and Italy are evacuating European citizens from Niger amid growing fears of conflict. The first military planes carrying mostly European nationals landed in Paris and Rome on Wednesday.

"Yesterday and today, with the help of our French friends, we were already able to fly more than 40 Germans out of Niger," said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, adding there would be more flights on Wednesday.

"It is also with this same unity and determination that we, as the European Union, support international efforts to restore constitutional order in Niger," she said.

France said it had evacuated more than 350 French people so far.

"Things could have turned ugly but it still is nice to be back here," a French evacuee who gave his name as Charles told Reuters TV.

"We will see how things evolve over there in the coming days and weeks. For us, who care about it quite a lot, we will follow this closely," he said.

France, the United States, Germany, and Italy have troops in Niger on counterinsurgency and training missions, helping the army to fight groups linked to al Qaeda and Daesh.

There has been no announcement of troops being withdrawn so far. Germany's defence minister said on Wednesday that there were no concerns about the safety of German soldiers.

Any Western military intervention to restore democracy must be ruled out, as it would be "perceived as a new colonisation", said Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani.

Niger is the world's seventh-biggest producer of uranium, the radioactive metal widely used for nuclear energy and treating cancer.

The EU Commission said earlier this week that it had sufficient inventories of natural uranium to mitigate any short-term supply risks.