By Oyintari Ben
A former rebel commander and politician in Niger has started a movement opposing the junta that seized control in a coup on July 26. This is the first indication of internal opposition to army rule in the crucial Sahel nation.
In a statement made public on Wednesday, Rhissa Ag Boula stated that the goal of his newly formed Council of Resistance for the Republic (CRR) was to restore former President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been held captive at his home since the coup.
According to the statement, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional organization, and any other foreign players attempting to reinstate constitutional order in Niger have the support of the CRR.
Several Nigerien political figures, according to a CRR member, have joined the organization but were unable to publicly declare their support due to safety concerns.
The junta rejected the most recent diplomatic mission, and the army governments of Burkina Faso and Mali, which support the armed takeover, appealed to the U.N. to forbid any military intervention, prompting the launch of the CRR. As a result, diplomatic efforts to undo the coup appeared to be at a standstill.
Ahead of a summit on Thursday where ECOWAS heads of state would discuss the use of force, Niger’s coup leaders refused access to African and U.N. envoys on Tuesday.
The United Nations, Western countries, and democratic ECOWAS members like Nigeria have called on the junta to restore the civilian administration that had been largely effective in curbing a deadly Islamist insurgency wreaking havoc in the Sahel region.
ECOWAS members Mali and Burkina Faso, whose own juntas seized power in coups during the previous two years, have sworn to defend Niger’s new army rulers from any attempts to overthrow them violently.
