Niger’s military junta says it is severing military agreements with France, its former colonial ruler, firing some of the previous government’s key ambassadors and warning citizens of the West African nation to watch for foreign armies and spies. A regional delegation’s efforts at negotiation quickly deadlocked. The junta’s announcement on Thursday deepens the post-coup isolation for what had been the US’ and allies’ last major security partner in the Sahel, the vast region south of the Sahara Desert. With two days remaining before a deadline set by the West African regional bloc to reinstate President Bazoum or face possible force, Bazoum in a plea published in a Washington Post said, “I write this as a hostage” and urged the US and partners to help. France has dismissed the move by coup leaders.