Reports from Niger say former rebel leader and politician, Rhissa Ag Boula, announced the establishment of a political movement named the Council of Resistance for the Republic (CRR) to aid international endeavors aimed at reinstating constitutional governance in Niger. This development is the first real indication of internal resistance to the military coup that took place in July.
In a statement made public on Wednesday, Boula said his new Council of Resistance for the Republic (CRR) aims to reinstate the toppled democratically elected President, Mohamed Bazoum, who has been in detention at his residence since the takeover. “Niger is the victim of a tragedy orchestrated by people charged with protecting it,” the statement said.
Ag Boula’s statement said it supports ECOWAS and any other international actors seeking to restore constitutional order in Niger, adding that it would make itself available to the bloc for any useful purpose.
Another CRR member said several Nigerièn political figures had joined the group but could not make their allegiance public for safety reasons.
Ag Boula was a leading figure in uprisings by Tuaregs, a nomadic ethnic group present in Niger’s desert north, demanding for an independent state in the Sahel in the 1990s and 2000s. Like many former rebels, he was integrated into government under Bazoum and his predecessor Mahamadou Issoufou.
While the extent of support for the CRR is unclear, Ag Boula’s statement creates a major challenge for the military junta as he is considered an influential figure among Tuaregs who control commerce and politics in much of the vast north. Support from the Tuaregs has been an important factor in maintaining political stability in vast territories of the country beyond Niamey.
This development, if allowed to gain grounds in the country’s majority Tuareg regions, would expand the theatre of conflict for the military junta beyond the Jihadist insurgency in the Tillaberi region.
There are speculations that the timing of this development indicates some external backing to mount immense pressure on the military junta. Some sources say Ag Boula is most likely emboldened by the expectations of financial support that such an operation would require to mobilise the needed human and material resources against the junta.
