A former rebel leader and politician in Niger announced the formation of a movement opposed to the junta that seized power in a coup on July 26, in a first sign of internal resistance to military rule in the strategically important Sahel country.

Risa Ag Bulla said in a statement released today that the Council of Resistance for Democracy (CRR) intends to reinstate ousted president Mohamed Bazum, who has been under house arrest since the military seized power.

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

The development comes as diplomatic efforts to reverse the coup appear to have stalled after the junta rejected the most recent diplomatic mission and the military governments of neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso called on the United Nations to prevent any military intervention.

Niger’s coup leaders on Tuesday denied entry to African UN envoys and representatives, resisting pressure to negotiate ahead of a summit on Thursday at which heads of state from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will discuss the possible use violence.

The CRR supports ECOWAS and any other international actors seeking to restore constitutional order in Niger, according to Ag Bula’s statement adding that the movement will be at the organization’s disposal for any useful purpose.

A CRR member said several Nigerien politicians have joined the movement but could not announce it publicly for security reasons.

Ag Bula played a leading role in uprisings by the Tuareg, a nomadic ethnic group with a presence in Niger’s desert north, in the 1990s and 2000s. Like many former rebels, he was integrated into the government under Bazum and his predecessor Mahamadou Issoufou.

While the extent of support for the CRR is unclear, Ag Bulla’s statement will worry coup leaders given his influence with the Tuareg, who control trade and politics in much of the vast north. Tuareg support would be critical to ensure the junta’s control beyond the city limits of Niamey.

The UN, Western powers and democratic ECOWAS members such as Nigeria want the junta to restore a civilian government that has been relatively successful in containing a deadly Islamist insurgency in the Sahel region.

Niger is the world’s seventh largest producer of uranium, the most widely used fuel for nuclear power, adding to its strategic importance.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke with Bazum about a visit to the central African country by US diplomat Victoria Nuland, the State Department said today.

“The two men discussed Acting Deputy Secretary of State Nuland’s recent trip to Niamey, and the Secretary of State conveyed the United States’ continued support for a solution that returns Niger to democratic governance and constitutional order,” the statement on yesterday’s meeting said. telephone conversation.

“The foreign minister also stressed that the safety of President Bazum and his family is of the utmost importance.”

Nuland said Monday that she traveled to Niger’s capital, Niamey, and had “frank and difficult” talks with senior junta officials.

In statements to reporters, Nuland said that junta officials did not accept US overtures to try to restore democratic order and that her request to meet with Bazum was rejected.