Outside the parliament, where Russian flags were displayed, a smaller group of arsonists had split off from a bigger demonstration in support of the coup leaders.
As of right moment, the army is supporting the soldiers who kidnapped President Mohamed Bazoum on Wednesday.
In requesting Mr. Bazoum’s release, Russia joined other nations and the UN.
The 64-year-old, who took office as president of Niger two years ago, is an important Western partner in the conflict with Islamist extremists in West Africa.
The uranium-rich nation is home to military sites for both the US and France, a former colonial power, both of whom have denounced the coup.
Washington’s “unwavering support” was pledged when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Mr. Bazoum.
The UN announced that it had ceased its humanitarian efforts in Niger. Whether the coup is to blame for the suspension is unknown.
More than four million people in Niger, according to the UN, are in need of humanitarian relief.
Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the UN, demanded Mr. Bazoum’s release “immediately and unconditionally” on Thursday.
On Thursday morning, Mr. Bazoum posted a bold tweet saying, “The hard-won gains will be safeguarded. All Nigerians who value freedom and democracy will take care of it.
The army chief of staff stated that he was supporting the takeover in order to prevent violence among the armed forces, despite his foreign minister’s efforts to mobilize support and promote discussion.
Since the junta has not publicly identified its commander, it is still unknown who is actually in charge of Niger.
State TV has been broadcasting the late-night coup declaration again, interwoven with patriotic music and Quranic verses; nevertheless, it did not carry its customary lunchtime newscast.
However, in the nation’s capital, Niamey, stores and markets opened for business. Following early morning delays brought on by heavy rain, coup supporters then flocked to the streets.
Some of the hundreds of protesters who assembled in front of the National Assembly waved Russian flags, while others held banners that said “Down with France” and “Foreign bases out.”
Later, police used tear gas to scatter those who went to the offices of the ruling party, where party members fled when they noticed the approaching demonstrators.
The altercation left some people hurt, and now burned-out automobile carcasses are parked all around the PNDS Tarraya party headquarters.
Supporters of the coup charge the party with corruption and failing to do enough to enhance security and put an end to the protracted Islamist insurgency.
Islamist upheavals have recently been the cause of coups in two nearby nations, Mali and Burkina Faso.
The new military chiefs in both nations have drifted away from France and toward Russia.
Several well-known pro-Kremlin pundits have been supporting the coup on Telegram, one of the few significant social media networks that is not blocked in Russia. They claim it is a chance for Russia and Wagner to enter Niger.
There is yet no proof that Russia was involved in this takeover. According to Reuters, which cited Russia’s state-run Tass news agency, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the constitutional order in Niger should be restored.
In recent weeks, some Nigerian civil society organizations have urged a shift away from France and toward Russia.
After a military plane touched down at an air force base on Thursday morning, the junta censured France for breaking the country’s border restriction.
For French and Western efforts to bring security back to the Sahel region of West Africa, this coup is still more bad news. When neighboring Mali decided to collaborate with the Russian Wagner Group rather than the French, Paris shifted its regional operations center to Niger.Even if it turns out to be a brief coup, it has demonstrated that Niger cannot always be counted on to be a reliable safe base. Like a water pool during the dry season, Western influence in the area is dwindling.
The militarily violent Wagner mercenaries of Russia have been chosen by the governments of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Central African Republic (CAR) as their preferred partner over any Western army. Wagner seems more concerned with enriching himself and increasing the Kremlin’s influence in Africa than pursuing Western objectives of fostering greater government.
This is fantastic news for the two main insurgent organizations in the area, those associated with the so-called Islamic State and al-Qaeda. They benefit from unrest, bad leadership, and local discontent with the government. Thus, a coup in Niger is likely to make efforts to restrain them even more difficult.
Col Maj Amadou Abdramane, a spokesman, declared the takeover and stated that it was motivated by “poor economic and social governance” in addition to the deteriorating security situation.
However, President Bazoum’s alleged attempt to oust Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani as commander of the presidential guard, according to Niger’s private L’Enqueteur daily, may have been the catalyst for the coup.
People in Niger are divided by the course of events, and some are startled and unhappy.On Wednesday, hundreds of the president’s supporters disobeyed the soldiers to demonstrate and demand that the military go back to the barracks while it was still going on.
After warning shots were fired—the only gunshot heard during this non-violent takeover of power—they dispersed.
“The coup was a terrible mistake. I’m sad about it because I want the best for our nation. The BBC was told by Mustapha, a Niamey resident who was taking refuge at home with his wife and 3-year-old son, that Niger will now regress.
Hassoumi Massoudou, the foreign minister of Niger, has urged the populace to resist the coup.
He said that the issue might still be resolved through communication in an interview with France24 and stated that envoys dispatched from the neighboring nation of Nigeria were speaking with the military.
Due to the border closure, Benin’s President Patrice Talon, who was scheduled to travel on a mediation mission on behalf of the West African regional bloc, Ecowas, had to cancel his trip.
Since gaining independence from France in 1960, the huge, arid nation on the border of the Sahara desert—one of the world’s poorest countries—has witnessed four coups as well as several coup attempts.
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