Rally in Support of Niger Coup After Military Leader’s Call to Defend Against Foreign Influence

Several thousand people turned up in the Niger capital on Sunday to show their support for the military coup that took place last month and whose leader has warned against foreign meddling and suggested a three-year transfer of power.

The protesters screamed anti-French and anti-ECOWAS chants. If ongoing talks with the coup leaders are unsuccessful, ECOWAS is considering launching a military operation to restore elected president Mohamed Bazoum.

Although the Sahel state’s new military rulers have formally outlawed protests, in reality, those in favor of the coup are still permitted to hold them.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed financial and trade restrictions four days after the July 26 coup, and the protesters brandished signs reading “Stop the military intervention” and “No to sanctions.”

According to AFP journalists, artists who supported the new military rule performed at the pro-coup event on Sunday.

A day after the new military ruler in Niamey issued a warning that an attack on Niger would not be a “walk in the park,” the latest in a series of pro-coup rallies took place.

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Niger’s Evolving Crisis

In a televised speech on Saturday, General Abdourahamane Tiani added that he did not want to “confiscate” power and that a return to civilian control would not last longer than three years.

The newly elected authorities of Niger have criticized France, a close Bazoum supporter, of orchestrating ECOWAS’ anti-coup stance, which was the focus of a renewed diplomatic effort on Saturday.

The 17-nation group said it had decided on a date for a prospective intervention after its chiefs of staff met on Friday in Accra, Ghana.

Notwithstanding this, it dispatched a diplomatic mission to Niamey on Saturday under the leadership of former Nigerian president Abdulsalami Abubakar.

The delegation members were seen on Niger television shaking hands with Bazoum, who is still being held captive.

The conversation between Abubakar and Tiani was also captured on camera, although the details of their conversation have not been made public.

After Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali as the other three West African countries to undergo a coup since 2020, ECOWAS leaders claim they must now take action.

As a last measure, the bloc has agreed to dispatch a “standby force” to Niger in order to reestablish democracy.

Problems are being caused in the Sahel region by expanding jihadist insurgencies connected to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

Frustration with the bloodshed has been used as a justification for the military coups.

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Source: MSN