Niger closes airspace and fails to reinstate president

Niger closed its airspace yesterday until further notice, citing the threat of military intervention from the West African regional bloc after coup leaders rejected a deadline to reinstate the country’s ousted president. Earlier, thousands of junta supporters flocked to a stadium in Niamey, the capital, cheering the decision not to cave into external pressure to stand down following the 26 July power grab. The coup, the seventh in West and Central Africa in three years, has rocked the Sahel region, one of the poorest in the world. Given its uranium and oil riches and its pivotal role in a war…