Nigeriens take part in a march known as by supporters of coup chief Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger, Sunday, July 30, 2023. Days after mutinous troopers ousted Niger’s democratically elected president, uncertainty is mounting in regards to the nation’s future and a few are calling out the junta’s causes for seizing management. The signal reads: “Down with France, long live Putin.”

Sam Mednick/AP

disguise caption

toggle caption

Sam Mednick/AP

Nigeriens take part in a march known as by supporters of coup chief Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger, Sunday, July 30, 2023. Days after mutinous troopers ousted Niger’s democratically elected president, uncertainty is mounting in regards to the nation’s future and a few are calling out the junta’s causes for seizing management. The signal reads: “Down with France, long live Putin.”

Sam Mednick/AP

NIAMEY, Niger — Thousands of supporters of the junta that took over Niger in a coup earlier this week marched by way of the streets of the capital, Niamey, on Sunday waving Russian flags, chanting the identify of the Russian president and forcefully denouncing former colonial energy France.

Russian mercenary group Wagner is already working in neighboring Mali, and Russian President Vladimir Putin wish to broaden his nation’s affect within the area, however it’s unclear but whether or not the brand new junta leaders are going to maneuver towards Moscow or keep on with Niger’s Western companions.

Days after after mutinous troopers ousted Niger’s democratically elected president, uncertainty is mounting in regards to the nation’s future and a few are calling out the junta’s causes for seizing management.

The mutineers mentioned they overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected two years in the past in Niger’s first peaceable, democratic switch of energy since independence from France, as a result of he wasn’t in a position to safe the nation from rising jihadi violence. But some analysts and Nigeriens say that is only a pretext for a takeover that’s extra about inside energy struggles than securing the nation.

“Everybody is wondering why this coup? That’s because no one was expecting it. We couldn’t expect a coup in Niger because there’s no social, political or security situation that would justify that the military take the power,” Prof. Amad Hassane Boubacar, who teaches on the University of Niamey, instructed The Associated Press.

He mentioned Bazoum needed to exchange the top of the presidential guard, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who additionally goes by Omar and is now in command of the nation. Tchiani was loyal to Bazoum’s predecessor and that sparked the issues, Boubacar mentioned. The AP can’t independently confirm his evaluation.

While Niger’s safety scenario is dire, it is not as unhealthy as neighboring Burkina Faso or Mali, which have even have been battling an Islamic insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Last yr Niger was the one one of many three to see a decline in violence, in keeping with the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

Niger till now has been seen because the final dependable associate for the West in efforts to battle the jihadists in Africa’s Sahel area, the place Russia and Western nations have vied for affect within the combat towards extremism. France has 1,500 troopers within the nation who conduct joint operations with the Nigeriens, and the United States and different European nations have helped prepare the nation’s troops.

Some collaborating in Sunday’s rally additionally warned regional our bodies who’ve denounced the coup to remain away. “I would like also to say to the European Union, African Union and ECOWAS, please please stay out of our business,” mentioned Oumar Barou Moussa who was on the demonstration.

“It’s time for us to take our lives, to work for ourselves. It’s time for us to talk about our freedom and liberty. We need to stay together, we need to work together, we need to have our true independence,” he mentioned.

Conflict consultants say out of all of the nations within the area, Niger has probably the most at stake if it turns away from the West, given the tens of millions of {dollars} of army help the worldwide group has poured in. On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned the continued safety and financial preparations that Niger has with the U.S. hinged on the discharge of Bazoum — who stays beneath home arrest — and “the immediate restoration of the democratic order in Niger.”

France on Saturday suspended all growth help and different monetary help for Niger, the Foreign Ministry mentioned in an announcement. “France demands an immediate return to constitutional order under President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected by the Nigeriens,” it mentioned.

The African Union has issued a 15-day ultimatum to the junta in Niger to reinstall the nation’s democratically elected authorities. On Sunday, the West African regional bloc, often known as ECOWAS, is holding an emergency summit in Abuja, Nigeria.

However, in a televised tackle Saturday, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Toumba, one of many troopers who ousted Bazoum, accused the assembly of constructing a “plan of aggression” towards Niger and mentioned it could defend itself.

Niger consultants say it is too quickly to know the way issues will play out.

“Tensions with the military are still ongoing. There could be another coup after this one, or a stronger intervention from ECOWAS, potentially military force, even if it is difficult to foresee how specifically that may happen and what form that may take,” mentioned Tatiana Smirnova, a researcher on the Centre FrancoPaix in battle decision and peace missions.

“Many actors are also trying to negotiate, but the outcome is unclear,” she mentioned.