After Niger’s coup, the drums of war are growing louder

NASSIROU MAHAMADOUECOWASECOWAS, a vegetable-seller perched on a stool in Niamey, the capital of Niger, does not look like a fighter. Yet at the mention of threats by Niger’s neighbours to use force to reinstate Mohamed Bazoum, the elected president who was ousted in a on July 26th, he swells with anger. “If they come here, we [civilians] are going to war alongside the army.” He is outraged that the Economic Community of West African States (), the regional bloc, is considering sending troops to battle the junta, even as it has done little to fight the jihadists that he says are the bigger threat. “ has weapons to attack Niger but not to kill the terrorists,” he says. “It’s a disgrace.”The regional bloc had threatened to use force if Mr Bazoum were not reinstated by August 6th. Yet as the clock ticked down to that deadline, the coup leaders showed no sign of giving up power. Instead they filled a stadium with cheering supporters (pictured), who beheaded a rooster painted in the colours of , the former colonial power. As the deadline day ended, the junta closed Niger’s airspace altogether, claiming that two other African countries had been preparing troops for deployment to Niger. It said Niger’s armed forces were “ready to defend the integrity of our territory”. It later ratcheted up tension by accusing France of violating its airspace and freeing terrorists, without providing any evidence. France denied the claims.