Niamey/Paris, Jul. 30, (dpa/GNA) – Thousands gathered in Niger’s capital Niamey on Sunday to show support for the new military rulers following a recent coup, as France issued a warning it would not tolerate violence against its citizens and diplomatic representatives.
The demonstration was in part intended to send a warning to France, the former colonial power, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) not to intervene in the country, a dpa reporter on the scene said.
The demonstrators waved Russian flags to show support for Russian forces in the country. After military coups in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, the new rulers there had turned towards Russia.
France and ECOWAS have criticized the coup that ousted the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.
General Omar Tchiani and other officers detained Bazoum on Wednesday. On Friday, Tchiani appointed himself president of the National Council and effectively the country’s new ruler.
The constitution has been abolished and all constitutional bodies dissolved.
In Paris, the Élysée Palace said that President Emmanuel Macron would not tolerate any attack on France or French interests in Niger, which gained full independence from France in 1960.
France would respond instantly to any attacks on its citizens, diplomats or institutions in the country, Macron said in response to reports of violence.
The French Foreign Ministry issued a call to the forces controlling Niger to live up to their responsibilities and to ensure the safety of French diplomatic representatives in the country.
The French news agency AFP tweeted that demonstrators had torn down the plaque of the French embassy in Niamey, trampled it underfoot and replaced it with Russian and Nigerien flags.
On Saturday, France and the European Union suspended all financial support to Niger.
And on Sunday, ECOWAS convened an urgent session in the Nigerian capital of Abuja to discuss the situation.
GNA
PD