Heightened tension in Niger as a deadline for coup leaders to restore democracy expires

Niger's new military leaders have said they will not cave in to external pressure to stand down.

Transcript

00:00 Supporters of Niger`s coup gather at a stadium in the capital, Niami.

00:04 Attended by some 30,000 people, the rally took place on Sunday as a deadline to release

00:09 and reinstate the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, was set to expire.

00:15 The cutoff date was set by the regional bloc, ECOWAS.

00:18 And if its demands are not met, Niger may face foreign military intervention.

00:23 The coup leaders who attended the rally say they will not cave in to external pressure

00:28 to stand down.

00:29 But while some citizens are cheering, others fear what might happen next.

00:33 We want peace.

00:34 We don`t want foreign aggression against another country.

00:38 We are brothers.

00:39 We are here, we are citizens of Lambda.

00:42 Even to eat is a problem for us.

00:45 So, if there is war, it doesn`t suit us, that`s why we are here.

00:50 ECOWAS, which agreed to the military action last week, has not said what its next steps

00:54 would be or exactly what time the deadline expires.

00:57 [WHOOSH]