NIAMEY
\nTens of thousands of protesters gathered outside a French military base in Niger\u2019s capital Niamey on Saturday demanding that its troops leave in the wake of a military coup that has widespread popular support but which Paris refuses to recognize.
\nThe July 26 coup \u2014 one of eight in West and Central Africa since 2020 \u2014 has sucked in global powers concerned about a shift to military rule across the region.
\nMost impacted is France, whose influence over its former colonies has waned in West Africa in recent years just as popular vitriol has grown. Its forces have been kicked out of neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso since coups in those countries, reducing its role in a region-wide fight against deadly Islamist insurgencies.
\nAnti-French sentiment has risen in Niger since the coup but soured further last week when France ignored the junta\u2019s order for its ambassador, Sylvain Itte, to leave. Police have been instructed to expel him, the junta said.
\nOutside the military base on Saturday, protesters slit the throat of a goat dressed in French colors and carried coffins draped in French flags as a line of Nigerien soldiers looked on. Others carried signs calling for France to leave.
\nReuters reporters said it was the biggest gathering yet since the coup, suggesting that support for the junta \u2014 and derision of France \u2014 was not waning.
\n\u201cWe are ready to sacrifice ourselves today, because we are proud,\u201d said demonstrator Yacouba Issoufou. \u201cThey plundered our resources and we became aware. So they\u2019re going to get out.\u201d
\nBy early evening local time, there had been no apparent outbreaks of violence.
\nFrance had cordial relations with ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and has about 1,500 troops stationed in Niger.
\nOn Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke to Bazoum every day and that \u201cthe decisions we will take, whatever they may be, will be based upon exchanges with Bazoum.\u201d
\nNiger\u2019s junta denounced the comments as divisive and served only to perpetrate France\u2019s neo-colonial relationship.
\nFrance is not the only country with concerns. West Africa\u2019s regional bloc ECOWAS has slapped sanctions on Niger and threatened military action as a last resort. The United States and European powers also have troops stationed in the country.
\nNigeria\u2019s President Bola Tinubu, who holds ECOWAS\u2019 revolving chairmanship, said last week that a nine-month transition back to civilian rule could satisfy regional powers.
\nNiger\u2019s junta had previously proposed a three-year timeline. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NIAMEY Tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside a French military base in Niger\u2019s capital Niamey on Saturday demanding that its troops leave in the wake of a military coup that has widespread popular support but which Paris refuses to recognize. The July 26 coup \u2014 one of eight in West and Central Africa since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-353645","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n