The military who led the coup d'état in Niger last July have announced that they want to prosecute ousted President Mohamed Bazoum for "high treason" and "attacking the country's security".

In a statement read out on national television on Sunday, Major Colonel Amadou Abdramane said that "evidence has been gathered to prosecute, before national and international authorities, the deposed President and his domestic and foreign accomplices for high treason and an attack on Niger's internal and external security".

According to the international press, the military justified the coup by the "continuous deterioration of the security situation and economic and social mismanagement" and stressed that "all institutions" of the republic were suspended.

The coup was condemned by the international community, in particular the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union and the United Nations.

On July 30, four days after the coup, ECOWAS leaders decided to sanction Niger financially and gave the military a seven-day ultimatum to restore constitutional order, threatening a possible use of force as a last resort.

On Sunday, the ruling military junta in Niger expressed its willingness to talk to ECOWAS.