Thousands of Niger Junta Supporters Overwhelm Call for Civilian Volunteers

By Boureima Balima and Abdel-Kader Mazou

NIAMEY (Reuters) – Supporters of Niger’s junta have been compelled on Saturday to halt a census of individuals keen to volunteer for non-military roles in defence in opposition to a attainable intervention by West African powers, saying that they had been overwhelmed by the numbers who turned up.

Hundreds of largely younger males had massed outdoors a stadium within the capital Niamey hours earlier than the scheduled start-time of the occasion – an indication of the robust help in some quarters for the junta, which has defied worldwide strain to face down after the July 26 ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum.

“In all our calculations and our understandings, we by no means thought we may mobilize (this variety of folks),” stated Younoussa Hima, co-organiser of the initiative dubbed “The Mobilisation of Younger Folks for the Fatherland.”

“So it’s actually troublesome for us at this time to do that work. That’s what made us halt this census,” Hima stated by the stadium after the crowds dispersed.

West Africa’s primary regional bloc, the Financial Group of West African States (ECOWAS), on Friday stated it had agreed an undisclosed “D-Day” for a attainable navy intervention if diplomatic efforts fail – an escalation that would additional destabilise a conflict-torn and impoverished area.

Organisers of the Niamey recruitment drive stated they didn’t intend to enroll volunteers for the military, however relatively to assemble an inventory of individuals keen to lend their civilian expertise in case ECOWAS assaults.

However lots of these across the stadium appeared eager to battle.

“They referred to as on the youth to reply to a attainable assault on our soil. And we’re prepared for any assault,” stated blogger Tahirou Seydou Abdoul Nassirou.

“My life, I give my life to my nation,” he stated, wiping a tear from his eye as different younger males nodded and cheered his phrases.

An ECOWAS delegation flew into Niamey on Saturday to carry talks with the junta, displaying that efforts to resolve the standoff peacefully are nonetheless underway.

The extent of help for the junta throughout Niger has been arduous to evaluate, however hundreds attended a earlier rally on the stadium on Aug. 11 and applauded coup leaders’ vow to face as much as the bloc.

On the stadium on Saturday, 35-year-old Kader Haliou stated patriotism was not the one motivation for these wanting to assist the junta.

“A lot of the younger individuals who have come are unemployed. Getting registered is a blessing for us given the idleness and lack of labor,” he stated.

The coup and subsequent worldwide sanctions have piled further strain on Niger’s struggling economic system. It is likely one of the world’s least developed international locations with greater than 40% of the inhabitants residing in excessive poverty, in accordance with the World Financial institution.

(Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Modifying by David Holmes)

Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.