The deadline has arrived Sunday for Niger's military junta to reinstate the country's ousted president, but the West Africa regional bloc that has threatened a military intervention faces prominent appeals to pursue more peaceful means.
In the capital, coup leaders appeared at a stadium rally where a chicken decorated in the colors of former colonizer France was beheaded, to cheers.
Algeria and Chad, non-ECOWAS neighbours with strong militaries in the region, have said they oppose the use of force or won't intervene militarily, and neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso -- both run by juntas -- have said an intervention would be a "declaration of war" against them, too. "I'm here to support the military. We are against . We will fight to the end. We do not agree with what France is doing against us. We are done with colonization," said Ibrahim Nudirio, one of the residents on patrol.Some passing cars honked in support. Some people called for solidarity among African nations.
The coup is a major blow to the United States and allies who saw Niger as the last major counterterrorism partner in the Sahel, a vast area south of the Sahara Desert where jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have been expanding their range and beginning to threaten coastal states like Benin, Ghana and Togo.
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