Thousands of people have gathered in the capital Niamey in West Africa’s Niger to show their support for the new military rulers.
The demonstrations should also serve as a warning to France and the West African community of states Ecowas, who have sharply criticized the military putsch, a reporter from the German Press Agency reported on site. Numerous people waved Russian flags. According to French media reports, the protest in front of the French embassy in the country sometimes resulted in violence.
On Wednesday, officers from General Omar Tchiani’s elite unit arrested the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum and declared him ousted. Tchiani appointed himself the new ruler on Friday. Shortly after Tchiani took power as de facto president, the putschists suspended the West African country’s constitution and dissolved all constitutional institutions.
Replaced French with Russian and Nigerien flags
The demonstrators were sometimes violent, the French news agency AFP wrote on Twitter. Some people tore down the plaque of the French embassy in Niamey, trampled on it and replaced it with Russian and Nigerien flags. After military coups in the neighboring countries of Mali and Burkina Faso, the new rulers there also turned their attention to Russia.
The Élysée Palace said that French President Emmanuel Macron would not tolerate any attack on France and its interests. France will respond immediately and relentlessly to any attack on its citizens, diplomats and institutions. The French foreign ministry said Paris is calling on Nigerien forces to fulfill their responsibilities to ensure the security of French diplomatic and consular missions in the country.
After a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, the former colonial power France announced on Saturday that it would suspend its budget support and development aid to Niger. The West African community of nations Ecowas held an emergency meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja to discuss the political situation in Niger.
