West African nations imposed sanctions and threatened force on Sunday if Niger¡¯s coup leaders fail to reinstate ousted President Mohammed Bazoum within a week, while supporters of the junta attacked the French Embassy in Niamey.

The 15-nation ECOWAS bloc¡¯s response to the Sahel region¡¯s seventh coup of recent years came as crowds in Niger¡¯s capital Niamey burned French flags and stoned the former colonial power¡¯s mission, drawing tear gas from police.

Images showed fires at the embassy walls and people being loaded into ambulances with bloodied legs.