Thursday, which marked a week after the military coup in Niger, thousands of demonstrators were seen on the streets of Niamey, the country’s capital in a show of support for the country’s new leadership.
According to reports from newsmen, People rallied on the streets of Niamey to signal their support for de facto president Abdourahmane Tchiani and his junta.
The demonstrations followed a call by civil society associations, according to reports.
They came on the 63rd anniversary of Niger gaining independence from former colonial power France.
According to local media, people also demonstrated in the city of Agadez, with posters seen expressing support for the putschists. Russian flags are also said to have been waved.
Agadez is on the edge of the Sahara Desert, which many migrants pass through on their way through the desert to Libya and towards the Mediterranean.
The coup plotters managed to ignite a “nationalistic fire” in the population within a week, said Olaf Bernau from the migration network Afrique-Europe-Interact.
Part of the reason for this is the EU’s migration strategy in Niger.
For several years, Niger, as an important transit country for migrants heading for Europe, has received financial support to limit migration. Since 2015, a law in Niger has criminalized illegal migration and its support.
So far, Niger has not only been an important partner for the West in containing migration, but also in the fight against terrorism.
In the Sahel, dozens of militias, some of whom have sworn allegiance to so-called Islamic State (IS) or the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, regularly carry out attacks.
