Hundreds of pro-coup demonstrators gathered in Niger’s capital, Niamey, on Thursday, denouncing sanctions imposed on the country’s new military regime by Ecowas, west Africa’s regional bloc led by Nigeria. The march fell on the 63rd anniversary of Niger’s independence from France. Demonstrators gathered around Independence Square in Niamey where they chanted anti-France and anti-western slogans.
Tensions have been simmering between Niger’s ruling junta and its neighbours in the Ecowas bloc, as calls to restore the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, face resistance in Niger. Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani, head of the new government rejected sanctions, warning against interference in Niger’s internal affairs. ‘The National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland rejects all sanctions and refuses to yield to any threat, wherever it may come from,’ said Tchiani on Wednesday during a televised address. France and Italy have begun evacuating their citizens from Niger.
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