Niamey, 10 August 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Niger's military junta has appointed a new Cabinet, two weeks after a coup ousted the West African country's democratically elected government.

A spokesman for the rulers announced on state television early on Thursday that 21 ministerial posts had been filled by military officers and civilians, with the military taking over the realm of defence and security.

General Salifou Mody was named defence minister, said the statement. Mody, who used to be the military attaché at Berlin's Nigerien Embassy, is considered next in line to de facto leader Abdourahmane Tchiani.

Earlier, economist Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine was named prime minister.

On July 26, officers of the presidential guard in Niger ousted president Mohamed Bazoum. The commander of the elite unit, Abdourahamane Tchiani, subsequently appointed himself the new ruler.

In the so-called "coup belt" of the Sahel region, Niger had been the exception to the rule, with its democratic government representing one of the last strategic partners of the West in the fight against Islamic terrorists in the region.

The international community has condemned the coup and pushed the coup leaders to restore order and hand back power to Bazoum.

The West African community of nations ECOWAS is set to meet Thursday in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, to discuss further action against the junta in Niger. They had issued an ultimatum against the coup leaders which expired over the weekend and threatened military intervention against the country.

Photo: YouTube screenshot