Niger coup supporters stages protest in Niamey

NIAMEY [Niger]: Thousands of people supporting the new military rulers of the West African Country, Niger rallied near a military base housing French soldiers on Saturday, demanding France to withdraw its ambassadors and troops from the country as sought by the new Junta establishment, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday.

The rally came after a call of several civic organisations hostile to the French military presence and new military rulers’ accusations against former France colonial power of “interference”.

They held up banners proclaiming, “French army, leave our country.” As per Al Jazeera, Niger’s military government, which seized power on July 26, has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of using divisive rhetoric in his comments about the coup and seeking to impose a neocolonial relationship with its former colony. Quoting the security personnel in Niamey, Al Jazeera reported that the protest was scheduled to start at 3 pm (14:00 GMT) but thousands of protesters gathered by 10 am(09:00 GMT).

The protests have been going on in Niger’s Niamey for the past few days but turned violent on Saturday when the protesters started breaking the barriers set up by the security forces and tried to approach the base. The military has since reinforced the area around the French base, which houses about 1,500 French troops, and warned against forceful entry and about the repercussions that would follow. But the demonstrators said they would not leave.

“All military bases. We want to fight to remove from our country all military bases,” said protester Doubou-Kambou Hamidou. “We don’t want it. Because for more than 13 years, terrorism has been here. They don’t care to fight terrorism,” he told Al Jazeera.

On August 29, France President Emmanuel Macron said that France’s ambassador to Niger will stay in the Sahel country in spite of the pressure being mounted to leave by the leaders of the recent coup, Al Jazeera reported.

Macron on Monday also reaffirmed France's support for the deposed president of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum. Macron had also lauded Bazoum’s decision to refuse to resign. Additionally, Macron stated that Paris would back any military action taken in Niger by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The French president acknowledged that French envoy Sylvain Itte was listening in from Niamey, the capital of Niger, despite being given a 48-hour deadline to leave the country last Friday.

He was speaking to ambassadors gathered in Paris for a significant speech on foreign policy, according to Al Jazeera. “France and its diplomats have faced particularly difficult situations in some countries in recent months, from Sudan, where France has been exemplary, to Niger at this very moment and I applaud your colleague and your colleagues who are listening from their posts,” he said. Bazoum was overthrown on July 26 and is currently being held at the presidential palace along with his family in a coup that has been denounced by France and the majority of Niger's neighbours.

In the event that diplomatic efforts to reach a settlement with the coup leaders fail, ECOWAS has stated that it is prepared to send soldiers to restore constitutional order, as reported by Al Jazeera. The French ambassador was given 48 hours to depart, according to the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which stated that he had refused to meet with the country's new leaders and had done so because doing so was "contrary to the interests of Niger".

Macron stressed that France would not budge from its position of denouncing the coup and supporting Bazoum, emphasising that he had been chosen democratically.

“I think our policy is the right one. It’s based on the courage of President Bazoum, and on the commitments of our ambassador on the ground who is remaining despite all the pressure, despite all the declarations made by the illegitimate authorities,” said Macron, Al Jazeera reported.