International Pressure Mounts on Coup Leaders in Niger While Hundreds Rally in Support of Junta

Protesters chant slogans during a rally in Niamey, Niger, 03 August 2023. EPA/ISSIFOU DJIBO
Protesters chant slogans during a rally in Niamey, Niger, 03 August 2023. EPA/ISSIFOU DJIBO
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International Pressure Mounts on Coup Leaders in Niger While Hundreds Rally in Support of Junta

Protesters chant slogans during a rally in Niamey, Niger, 03 August 2023. EPA/ISSIFOU DJIBO
Protesters chant slogans during a rally in Niamey, Niger, 03 August 2023. EPA/ISSIFOU DJIBO

International pressure mounted Thursday against leaders of the coup in Niger as the American secretary of state said the United States “stands very much” in support of West African leaders who have threatened to use force to restore the nation's democracy, and Senegal offered troops to help.
As hundreds of anti-French protesters rallied in the Nigerien capital in support of the ruling junta, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered general support for the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, though he did not specifically refer to its threat of military action. Blinken told reporters in New York that the US believes the bloc's efforts to reinstate toppled President Mohamed Bazoum are “important, strong and have our support”, The Associated Press said.
Senegal's foreign affairs minister said her country would participate in a military intervention if ECOWAS decides to act. “Senegalese soldiers have to go ... these coups d’état must be stopped," Aissata Tall Sall said.
Meanwhile, Niger's military leaders sought to exploit anti-Western sentiment to shore up their takeover. The junta suspended broadcaster RFI and France 24 television from broadcasting in the country, according to the French foreign affairs ministry. The suspensions were part of the junta's “authoritarian repression,” the ministry wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Last week's coup toppled Bazoum, whose ascendancy was Niger’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from France in 1960. The coup stirred strident anti-French sentiment and raised questions about the future of the fight against extremism in Africa's Sahel region, where Russia and Western countries have vied for influence.
The coup has been condemned by Western countries and the ECOWAS bloc, which has threatened to forcibly remove the junta if it does not hand back power to Bazoum. As tensions have grown in the capital of Niamey and the region, many European countries have moved to evacuate their citizens.
At Thursday's protest organized by the junta and civil society groups on Niger’s independence day, protesters pumped their fists in the air and chanted support for neighboring countries where militaries have also taken power in recent years. Some waved Russian flags, and one man brandished a Russian and Nigerian flag sewn together.
“For more than 13 years, the Nigerien people have suffered injustices," protester Moctar Abdou Issa said. The junta "will get us out of this, God willing ... they will free the Nigerien people.”
“We’re sick of the French,” he added.
It remains unclear whether a majority of the population supports the coup, and in many parts of the capital, people went about their lives as normal Thursday.
US President Joe Biden used the occasion of Niger’s independence day to call for Bazoum to be released and democracy restored.
“The Nigerien people have the right to choose their leaders. They have expressed their will through free and fair elections — and that must be respected,” he said in a statement.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration was still focused on diplomacy.
“We still believe there’s time and space for that. The window is not going to be open forever,” Kirby said.
In an address to the nation on Wednesday, the new military ruler, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, lashed out at those who have condemned the coup and called on the population to be ready to defend the nation. He said harsh sanctions imposed last week by ECOWAS were illegal, unfair and inhuman.
ECOWAS has set a deadline of Sunday for the junta to reinstate Bazoum, who remains under house arrest.
In an opinion piece in The Washington Post, Bazoum described himself as a hostage who was one among hundreds of citizens arbitrarily arrested. He said his nation's security situation was improving before the coup but was now at risk because Niger would lose foreign aid and terrorist groups would take advantage of its instability.
“In our hour of need, I call on the US government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order,” Bazoum wrote in the piece posted online late Thursday.
After the deadline set by ECOWAS expires, the bloc is expected to decide by consensus on the next step as recommended by its defense chiefs.
At a bloc meeting in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, Brig. Gen. Tukur Ismaila Gusau, a Nigeria defense spokesman, said the defense chiefs have been asked to come up with a military solution, which they hope will be "the last option.”
The bloc's sanctions include halting energy transactions with Niger, which gets up to 90% of its power from neighboring Nigeria, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
France has 1,500 soldiers in Niger who conduct joint operations with its military against jihadis linked to al-Qaida and the ISIS group. The United States and other European countries have helped train Niger's troops.
Niger was seen as the West’s last reliable partner in the region, but some in the country see Russia and its Wagner mercenary group, which operates in a handful of African countries, as a powerful alternative.
The new junta has not said whether it intends to ally with Moscow or stick with Niger’s Western partners, but that question has become central to the unfolding political crisis. Neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso — both ruled by juntas — have turned toward Moscow.
Ahead of Thursday's demonstration, the French Embassy in Niamey asked Niger's government to ensure the security of its premises after it was attacked by protesters and a door was set on fire.
The president of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, dispatched two delegations Thursday to deal with Niger’s crisis.
A group from ECOWAS headed by former Nigerian head of state Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar was on its way to Niger. A second group led by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe went to engage with the leaders of Libya and Algeria, said Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the president.



Ukraine Has Lost over 40% of Land It Seized in Russia’s Kursk Region, Senior Kyiv Military Source Says

A still image taken from an undated handout video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service on 22 November 2024 shows Russian military volunteers of the “Bars-Kursk” formation patrolling in the village of Korenevo, Kursk region, Russia. (EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service Handout)
A still image taken from an undated handout video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service on 22 November 2024 shows Russian military volunteers of the “Bars-Kursk” formation patrolling in the village of Korenevo, Kursk region, Russia. (EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service Handout)
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Ukraine Has Lost over 40% of Land It Seized in Russia’s Kursk Region, Senior Kyiv Military Source Says

A still image taken from an undated handout video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service on 22 November 2024 shows Russian military volunteers of the “Bars-Kursk” formation patrolling in the village of Korenevo, Kursk region, Russia. (EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service Handout)
A still image taken from an undated handout video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service on 22 November 2024 shows Russian military volunteers of the “Bars-Kursk” formation patrolling in the village of Korenevo, Kursk region, Russia. (EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service Handout)

Ukraine has lost over 40% of the territory in Russia's Kursk region that it captured in a surprise incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counter-assaults, a senior Ukrainian military source said.

The source, who is on Ukraine's General Staff, said Russia had deployed 59,000 troops to the Kursk region since Kyiv's forces swept in and advanced swiftly, catching Moscow unprepared 2-1/2 years into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"At most, we controlled about 1,376 square kilometers (531 square miles), now of course this territory is smaller. The enemy is increasing its counterattacks," the source said.

"Now we control approximately 800 square kilometers (309 square miles). We will hold this territory for as long as is militarily appropriate."

With the thrust into Kursk, Kyiv aimed to stem Russian attacks in eastern and northeastern Ukraine, force Russia to pull back forces gradually advancing in the east and give Kyiv extra leverage in any future peace negotiations.

But Russian forces are still advancing in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin's main objectives were to occupy the entire Donbas, which consists of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and oust Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region.

"For Putin, the most important thing is to push us out of the Kursk region. I am sure that he wants to push us out by January 20," Zelenskiy told media, referring to when Donald Trump will be inaugurated as US president. "It is very important for him (Putin) to demonstrate that he is in control of the situation."

The source at the Ukrainian General Staff source reiterated that about 11,000 North Korean troops had arrived in the Kursk region in support of Russia, but that the bulk of their forces was still finalizing their training.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters could not independently verify the figures or descriptions given.

Moscow, which occupies about a fifth of Ukraine, has not confirmed or denied the presence of North Korean forces in Kursk region.

RUSSIAN ADVANCE IN EASTERN UKRAINE

The General Staff source said the Kurakhove region was the most threatening for Kyiv now as Russian forces were advancing there at 200-300 meters (yards) a day and had managed to break through in some areas.

The town of Kurakhove is a stepping stone towards the logistical hub of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.

Russia has about 575,000 troops fighting in Ukraine now, the source said, and aims to increase its forces to around 690,000.

Russia does not disclose numbers involved in its fighting. Reuters could not verify those figures.

Ukraine has sought to disrupt Russian logistics and supply chains by hitting Russian weapons and ammunition depots, airfields, and other military targets inside Russia.

After US President Joe Biden allowed Kyiv to fire US-supplied missiles at targets deep inside Russia, Ukraine last week fired US ATACMS and British Storm Shadow cruise missiles into Russia.

On Thursday, Russia launched a new medium-range ballistic missile into the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, in a likely warning to NATO.

Ukrainian officials are holding talks with the United States and Britain on new air defense systems capable of protecting Ukrainian cities and civilians from the new longer-range aerial threats.

The Ukrainian General Staff source said the military had implemented measures to bolster air defenses over Kyiv and planned similar steps for Sumy in the north and Kharkiv in the northeast.