The chiefs of staff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are meeting from Wednesday to Friday in Abuja to discuss the coup in Niger, the regional organization announced in a statement yesterday evening, Tuesday.

West African leaders who met at an extraordinary summit on Sunday in the Nigerian capital condemned the coup and gave the coup leaders a week to reinstate the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, without ruling out the possibility of using force.

The leaders also announced that a representative would be appointed to be sent to Niger to present the group's demands.

A delegation from the Economic Community of West African States, headed by former Nigerian President Abdurrahman Abubakar, is also scheduled to visit Niger on Wednesday, according to a military official from Niger and a senior official from the West African organization who requested anonymity.

Niger had reopened its land and air borders with five neighboring countries after about a week of closure: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali, and Chad.

This announcement came just hours after the first operation carried out by France to evacuate its citizens from the country. The first French plane carrying 262 people evacuated from Niger landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport late Tuesday night.

Paris stated that its decision was due to "acts of violence against its embassy" on Sunday during an anti-France demonstration, as well as the "closure of airspace that left its citizens unable to leave the country by their own means."