West African defence chiefs have reportedly made a plan for potential military intervention to reverse last week’s coup in Niger.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will not divulge when and where it will strike, but says the decision will be taken by the bloc’s heads of state.

ECOWAS has already imposed sanctions on Niger and said it could authorise the use of force if the coup leaders do not restore power to elected President Mohamed Bazoum by Sunday.

The 15-member body sent a delegation to Niger on Thursday seeking an “amicable resolution”, but Al Jazeera says a source in the entourage said a meeting at the airport with the military’s representatives yielded no breakthrough.