Niger military on brink of deadline to reverse coup

NIAMEY: Thousands of coup supporters in Niger gathered on Sunday for a rally to cheer on the generals claiming power, as a deadline set by the west African bloc for the military to relinquish control or face possible armed intervention was set to lapse.

The ECOWAS bloc, chaired by regional military powerhouse and Niger´s neighbour Nigeria, had given the troops that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 a week to return him to power.

But Sunday afternoon in the capital Niamey, thousands of backers of the now-ruling National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) gathered at a stadium draped in Russian flags and carrying portraits of CNSP leaders.

At 30,000-seat Seyni Kountche stadium, named after Niger´s first coup d´etat leader in 1974, CNSP leaders including General Mohamed Toumba greeted a jubilant crowd, while showing no sign of willingness to cede power.

ECOWAS military chiefs of staff agreed Friday on a plan for a possible intervention to respond to the crisis, the latest of several coups to hit Africa´s Sahel region since 2020.

“We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message clearly transmitted to them (the military) that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done,” ECOWAS commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah said.

But he warned that “all the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out”, including how and when force would be deployed. Niger´s military leaders have said they will meet force with force.