NIAMEY (Reuters) – Niger’s capital was calm on Sunday, with citizens appearing undaunted by the threat of military intervention by West Africa’s regional bloc, as its ultimatum for the country’s coup leaders to reinstate the president expires.
On Niamey’s streets there were sporadic displays of support for but no signs of opposition to the coup leaders, who have said they will not cave in to external pressure to stand down following the July 26 power grab.
The seventh coup in West and Central Africa in three years has rocked the western Sahel region, which has strategic significance partly due to Niger’s rich uranium and oil deposits.
Blasting military tunes and tooting vuvuzela horns, over 100 people set up a picket near an air base in Niamey on Saturday evening and pledged to offer non-violent resistance in support of the new army-led administration if needed.
Defence chiefs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed on military action on July 30, including when and where to strike, if the detained President, Mohamed Bazoum, was not released and reinstated by Sunday.
ECOWAS did not respond to a request for comment on what its next steps would be.
On the picket line, where organizers led chants of ‘Vive Niger’, much of the emotion appeared directed against ECOWAS as well as former colonial power France, which said on Saturday it would support regional efforts to overturn the coup, without specifying if that included military assistance.
“The Nigerien people have understood that these imperialists want to bring about our demise. And God willing, they will be the ones to suffer for it,” said pensioner Amadou Adamou.
Sunday’s television broadcasts included a roundtable debate on spurring solidarity in the face of looming ECOWAS sanctions, which have led to power cuts and soaring food prices.
The bloc’s military pledge has triggered fears of further conflict in a region already battling a deadly insurgency that has killed thousands and forced millions to flee.
“I am not worried because I know that any military intervention by ECOWAS in Niger would be a loss for this organization. It is not in the interest of its leaders,” 59-year-old housewife Hadjo Hadjia told Reuters in a quiet Niamey street.
Any military intervention by ECOWAS could be complicated by a promise from juntas in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso to come to Niger’s defence if needed.
Libyan Presidential Council President Mohamad al-Menfi also highlighted Saturday the importance of cooperation between neighboring countries and the African bloc for regional stability, particularly in Niger.
Menfi met Nigeria’s Special Envoy Babagana Kingibe, who is the President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in Tripoli, according to a statement from his office.