Thousands of people rallied across Niger on Thursday to show support for the coup that toppled democratically elected leader Mohamed Bazoum as US President Joe Biden demanded his immediate release.
Demonstrators in the heart of the capital Niamey, some brandishing giant Russian flags, chanted anti-French slogans at a protest which wrapped up peacefully to mark the anniversary of the west African nation’s 1960 independence from France. The crowd shouted “Down with France”, “Long live Russia, long live (Vladimir) Putin”.
Police blocked access to the French embassy, after Paris had urged the junta to “fully guarantee” the safety of embassies in Niamey ahead of the demonstrations. A week after the coup, European citizens have been evacuating from Niger, which has had a key role in French and Western strategies to combat a insurgency that has plagued Africa’s Sahel region since 2012.
Protester Issiaka Hamadou said it was “only security that interests us”, irrespective of whether it came from “Russia, China, Turkiye, if they want to help us”.
“We just don’t want the French, who have been looting us since 1960 – they’ve been there ever since and nothing has changed,” he said. Several thousand people also took to the streets of other cities including Agadez in the north and Filingue, where junta head General Abdourahamane Tiani is from.
The clock is also ticking down on Sunday’s ultimatum from West African bloc Ecowas for coup leaders to restore Bazoum to power within a week or face the possible “last resort” of military intervention.
Thousands of anti-sanctions protestors gather in support of the putschist soldiers in the capital Niamey, Niger on Thursday.
