Niger coup plotters face internal resistance as ex-rebel leader launches anti-coup movement

Rhissa Ag Boula, a former rebel commander and politician in Niger, has started a movement opposing the military administration that seized power in a July 26 coup, the first evidence of internal opposition to army rule in the strategically vital Sahel country according to Sahara Reporters.

Boula’s new Council of Resistance for the Republic (CRR) intends to reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been detained at his mansion since the coup.

In a statement, Ag Boula stated that it supports ECOWAS and any other international players working to restore constitutional order in Niger and that it would be accessible to the bloc for any helpful purpose.

Another CRR member stated that some Nigerian political figures have joined the group but were unable to publicly declare their support due to safety concerns. In the 1990s and 2000s, Ag Boula was a key figure in Tuareg uprisings, a nomadic ethnic group found in Niger’s desert north. He, like many other former insurgents, was absorbed into government by Bazoum and his predecessor, Mahamadou Issoufou.

While the level of CRR backing is unknown, Ag Boula’s comments may worry coup leaders given his importance among Tuaregs who control business and politics in most of the vast north. Tuareg’s support would be critical in extending the military government’s rule beyond Niamey’s municipal limits.

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