The African Union (AU) has suspended Niger from all its activities following a military coup and has also told its members to avoid any action that might legitimize the junta.

The decision announced on Tuesday, August 22, after a meeting of the AU’s Peace and Security Council in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, comes after several Western countries cut aid to Niger due to a July 26 coup that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum.

The AU Peace and Security Council said in a communique on Tuesday that it had noted ECOWAS’ decision to activate a standby force and asked the AU Commission to assess the economic, social, and security implications of deploying such a force.

Bazoum has been under house arrest since the takeover orchestrated by members of his presidential guard.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also imposed sanctions and last week, agreed on a “D-day” to begin a military intervention through an already activated regional strike force.

ECOWAS which has already imposed broad sanctions on Niger which the AU endorsed, said the use of force would be the “last resort” after exhausting diplomatic channels for negotiation.