Niger's junta vows to prosecute ousted president for treason

NIAMEY, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) 

 Niger's junta vowed Sunday to prosecute ousted President Mohamed Bazoum for "high treason" and slammed West African leaders for imposing sanctions on the country, reported local media.

Bazoum would be prosecuted "for high treason and undermining the internal and external security of Niger," said Col Maj Amadou Abdramane, a member of the country's Defense and Security Forces and the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) that was newly established by soldiers.

 The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has imposed sanctions on Niger in response to the recent coup and approved the deployment of a "standby force to restore constitutional order" in Niger as soon as possible but remains committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis, with Niger's coup leaders denouncing the sanctions as "illegal, inhumane and humiliating," reported local media.

Soldiers in Niger detained Bazoum on July 26 and chose Abdourahamane Tchiani, former leader of the country's presidential guard, to lead the CNSP, a governing body established by them after the coup.