Thousands of people have flocked to the streets of Niamey, Niger’s city, to support last week’s military coup.
They lambasted West African countries that placed sanctions on the country and asked that foreign forces leave.
Both the United States and France have military outposts in the country to assist in the fight against Islamist extremists.
A similar protest on Sunday resulted in attacks on the French embassy, but the demonstration on Thursday was peaceful.
France, Niger’s former colonial power, has urged the military leader to prevent a repeat.
Previously, demonstrators chanted “Long live Russia,” “Long live Putin,” and “Down with France” – the leader of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force reportedly characterized the coup as a triumph.
However, organizers had requested that no Russian flags be displayed this time, and there were significantly fewer on display than on Sunday. Instead, people were waving Nigerien flags.
It is unclear whether this was due to Russia issuing a statement asking for the return of the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, to power and discussions, or because Thursday is Niger’s Independence Day.
Mr Bazoum, Niger’s first democratically elected president to succeed another, was detained last week by his own security.
According to local correspondents, many people are also opposed to the coup.
Economic and trade sanctions have been imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), a trade bloc of 15 West African countries. It has also threatened to employ force if President Bazoum’s reinstatement is not completed by Sunday.
Senegal warned on Thursday that if the EU decides to intervene militarily, it will send troops. Foreign Minister Aissata Tall Sall stated that there had been one “coup too many” in the region. In recent years, the army has seized control in neighboring Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.
“Senegalese soldiers, for all these reasons, will go there,” she said.
Niger’s electricity company claims that neighboring Nigeria has stopped electricity supply, causing extensive power outages, while Nigeria has not acknowledged this.
On Wednesday evening, coup leader Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani issued a warning against “any interference in the internal affairs” of the country.
On July 26, Gen Tchiani, a former chief of the presidential guard under Mr Bazoum, seized power.
Gen Tchiani stated in a televised address on Wednesday that the military dictatorship rejects the Ecowas “sanctions as a whole and refuses to give in to any threat wherever it comes from.”
He described the sanctions as “cynical and iniquitous,” claiming they were designed to “humiliate” Niger’s security forces and render the country “ungoverned.”
Niger has been evacuated of hundreds of foreign nationals. The United States has ordered the partial evacuation of its embassy, and over 1,000 French and European citizens have been flown out of the country.
