Former Niger Tuareg rebel leader launches group to tackle junta

A former Niger Tuareg rebel leader, Rhissa Ag Boula has launched a group to initiate serious opposition to the military junta that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum in a palace coup on July 26.

Boula, a popular politician in the country, who announced the launch of the movement, Council of Resistance for the Republic (CRR), on Wednesday, said it was aimed at forcing the junta out and reinstating Bazoum.

Read also: ECOWAS imposes fresh sanctions on Niger military junta

In a statement during the launch of the rebel group, Boula said the CRR was in support of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as well as other international bodies seeking to end the military rule in the country, and would make the council available for any useful purpose.

“Niger is the victim of a tragedy orchestrated by people charged with protecting it,” Boula said.

The former Tuareg rebel leader had played a key role in uprisings by the nomadic ethnic group in Niger’s arid northern region in the 1990s and 2000s, and was integrated into government under Bazoum and his predecessor, Mahamadou Issoufou.

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