Major cities in Niger are facing rolling blackouts following last week’s coup in the West African country.
The power shortages are a result of Nigeria cutting supplies to its northern neighbour, Niger’s electricity company, Nigelec says.
West African trade bloc, Ecowas, has put sanctions on Niger, but has not said if these include electricity supplies.
Ecowas defence chiefs are meeting in Nigeria to discuss a potential military intervention to roll back the coup.
On Sunday, West African leaders gave Niger’s military junta a week to give up power or face possible military consequences.
Speaking on Wednesday, Abdel-Fatau Musah, Ecowas commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, said an armed intervention would be a “last resort”. But he insisted that the bloc had to “prepare for the eventuality”.
Ecowas has vowed to end the wave of coups that have plagued West Africa’s Sahel region in recent years. With this in mind, Mr Musah said there was “a need to demonstrate that we cannot only bark, but can bite”.
The ruling military juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso have warned Ecowas against any intervention in Niger, insisting any military action against the new regime would also be tantamount to a “declaration of war” against them. They did not send their defence chiefs to the Ecowas meeting in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. —BBC