Thousands of Nigeriens took to the streets of Niamey on Wednesday to show support for junta leader General Abdourahamane Tiani, just days after a failed army mutiny shook the capital.
According to journalists on ground, the rally at Place de la Concertation drew several thousand people — including government ministers and junta loyalists. Similar demonstrations were also planned in other major cities across the country.
The show of support comes after loyalist forces, aided by Russian mercenaries from the Africa Corps, quelled an attempted uprising over the weekend. The fighting reportedly broke out at several sensitive locations in Niamey before government forces regained control.
Tiani, who seized power in the 2023 coup, has not made any public statement or appearance since the mutiny attempt.
Crowds at Wednesday’s protest chanted “down with the imperialists” and waved Russian flags. Many speakers framed the rally as a defense of Niger’s sovereignty.
“We will show the whole world that the Nigerien people stand united” and that “treason will not break our determination,” Business Minister Abdoulaye Seydou told the crowd.
General Amadou Ibro, Tiani’s chief of staff, claimed the mutiny’s “sponsors are based abroad” — echoing the junta’s frequent accusation that foreign powers are behind unrest. State TV had earlier pointed fingers at France, Niger’s former colonial power.
Since the 2023 coup, Niger, along with military-led Burkina Faso and Mali, has cut ties with Paris and deepened security cooperation with Moscow. Russian paramilitaries are now key partners in the three countries’ fight against jihadist violence in the Sahel.
The capital has since returned to calm, but the mutiny marks one of the most serious challenges yet to Tiani’s rule.
