Niger: Coup supporters march on French Embassy waving Russian flags
Thousands of supporters of the junta that took over Niger in a coup earlier this week marched through the streets of the capital, Niamey, on Sunday waving Russian flags, chanting the name of the Russian president and forcefully denouncing former colonial power France.
The protesters marched through the city to the French Embassy, with black smoke seen rising from across the city. The Nigerien army broke up the crowd of the protesters.
Russian mercenary group Wagner is already operating in neighbouring Mali, and Russian President Vladimir Putin would like to expand his country's influence in the region.
However, it is unclear yet whether the new junta leaders will move toward Moscow or stick with Niger's Western partners.
Days after the coup, uncertainty is mounting about Niger's future, with some calling out the junta's reasons for seizing control.
President Mohamed Bazoum was democratically elected two years ago in Niger’s first peaceful transfer of power since independence from France in 1960.
The mutineers said they overthrew him because he wasn’t able to secure the nation against growing jihadi violence.
Regional bodies, including the West African economic bloc ECOWAS, have denounced the coup.
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the continued security and economic arrangements that Niger has with the U.S. hinged on the release of Bazoum — who remains under house arrest — and “the immediate restoration of the democratic order in Niger.”
On Sunday France condemned all violence against diplomatic compounds, whose security is the responsibility of the host state, said a statement by the government.
“Nigerien forces are obliged to ensure the security of our diplomatic and consular premises. We urge them to fulfill this obligation under international law,” it said.
The attack follows France's move on Saturday to suspend all development and financial aid for Niger.
The African Union has issued a 15-day ultimatum to the junta in Niger to reinstall the country’s democratically elected government. ECOWAS is holding an emergency summit Sunday in Abuja, Nigeria.
The 15-nation ECOWAS bloc has unsuccessfully tried to restore democracies in nations where the military took power in recent years. Four nations are run by military regimes in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.
If ECOWAS imposes economic sanctions on Niger, which is what normally happens during coups, it could have a deep impact on Nigeriens, who live in the third-poorest country in the world, according to the latest U.N. data.
However, in a televised address Saturday, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Toumba, one of the soldiers who ousted Bazoum, accused the meeting of making a “plan of aggression” against Niger and said the country would defend itself.
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