Niger's former prime minister has urged his people to rise up before they are crushed.

Hama Amadou called President Mamadou Tandja a dictator whose decision to cling to power has led to international sanctions on the poorest country in the world.

Amadou, who is based outside Niger, called on his people to rise up against the “dictatorship” of President Tandja on Monday.

“People who bow to dictatorship without reacting, will die under the feet of a dictator… I know Niger people will not be willing to die under Tandja's boot,” he told Radio Anfani, a private radio station in Niamey.

Tandja has faced criticism at home and abroad since staging an August 4 referendum, boycotted by the opposition, that allowed him to stay in power until 2012 - he was supposed to step down in December after two successive five-year terms.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended Niger in the wake of the disputed polls, and the European Union this month provisionally froze development aid to Niger.

FTP/HGL