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The United States has urged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to maintain pressure against the Niger coupist.
ECOWAS led by President Bola Tinubu was given this advice by the US in other to make the Niger military release President Mohamed Bazoum and restore constitutional order.
In a statement, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, commended ECOWAS President Bola Tinubu for his leadership in the crisis but said that more needed to be done.
"The Secretary noted the importance of maintaining pressure on the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland to restore constitutional order and to see President Mohamed Bazoum and his family released," the statement said.
Bazoum was ousted by the military on July 26 and has been held in his Presidential Palace residence in Niamey ever since. The military suspended the constitution and appointed a 21-member transitional government.
The US has imposed sanctions on the leaders of the coup and has called for their immediate release.
Blinken said that the US was "committed to working with ECOWAS and its partners to support a swift and peaceful return to constitutional order in Niger."
He also urged the Niger military to "respect the human rights of all citizens, including those who have been detained in connection with the coup."
The coup in Niger is the latest in a series of military takeovers in West Africa. In recent years, there have been coups in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso.
The US and other Western countries have condemned the coups, and have called for the restoration of democracy.
The coups have destabilized the region and have made it more difficult to combat the growing threat of terrorism.
