The junta-led Burkinabe and Malian governments, which are currently suspended from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), jointly said they would exit the bloc if it or France began a military operation in Niger to combat the country's July 26 coup, Jeune Afrique reported on July 31. The Guinean government, which is also suspended from ECOWAS, later issued its own statement of support for Niger.