Thousands from the junta-led countries in Africa’s Sahel region gathered this week in the Nigerien capital of Niamey, with music and cultural displays, to condemn what they called the West's imperialist agenda and to drive support for their military regimes.
Delegates from Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali took part in the three-day conference that ended on Thursday. The junta leaders of the three countries are seeking greater popular support after they deposed democratically elected governments and severed ties with longstanding Western partners such as France, their former colonial ruler, with Russia the new preferred partner.
