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A new twist has emerged in the ongoing political impasse in Niger Republic as a former rebel leader, Rhissa Ag Boula, has launched a movement opposing the military government that forcefully took power after the July 26, 2023, coup.
The development comes amid resistance by the Niger junta against threats by the West and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), who demanded an immediate return to democratic rule.
Since the coupists came on board, there has been no report of any internal opposition to them but the latest development coming from the West African nation indicated that a change might be in the offing.
Boula, who has floated the Council of Resistance for the Republic (CRR), said he aims to reinstate overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been in detention at his residence since the takeover.
He made this known in a statement on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, where he said “Niger is the victim of a tragedy orchestrated by people charged with protecting it.”
The rebel leader's announcement comes as all diplomatic moves to reverse the coup had hit a snag, with the military junta rejecting the latest advance from ECOWAS.
The Niger coup leaders refused an audience with a delegation of African and United Nations envoys on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, fending off attempts to be cowered into negotiation before the ECOWAS summit on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Boula, in his statement, declared support for ECOWAS and any other international actors interested in the restoration of constitutional order in the Niger Republic, pledging to make himself available to the bloc for any useful purpose.
Another CRR member claimed that several Nigerien political figures had pledged their allegiance to the group but had chosen to remain in the background for safety reasons.
Boula is a politician and former Minister of Tourism who led insurgencies by the Tuareg, a nomadic ethnic group present in Niger’s desert north, in both 1990–1995 and 2007–2009.
Like many former rebels, Boula was integrated into government under Bazoum and his predecessor, Mahamadou Issoufou.