RABAT, September 1. /TASS/. Activists of Niger’s M62 Movement (also known as the Sacred Union for the Safeguarding of the Sovereignty and Dignity of the People) will go on a three-day sit-down strike starting from September 1 demanding the withdrawal of the French military from the country.

"We are calling on the country’s people, including the people of [the capital] Niamey, to come together and make French troops leave our country in accordance with the decisions made by our government around a month ago, namely the decision on denunciation of defense agreements between Niger and France," the movement’s coordinator Abdoulaye Seydou proclaimed in a speech aired by RTN television.

"Our movement, in cooperation with other civil society institutions, has made a decision to organize a three-day sit-down strike starting from Friday, September 1," he said. "At present, our only struggle is to bring the people of our country together for the sake of making French troops leave our country, as was the case in Burkina Faso and Mali," Seydou added.

In late July, a group of military rebels in Niger announced the removal of President Mohamed Bazoum. They then established the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (Conseil national pour la sauvegarde de la patrie, CNSP), headed by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, to run the country. Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) demanded that the rebels in Niger, which is a member of this organization, release Bazoum and warmed about a military resolution of the situation if he is not released. Apart from that, the ECOWAS imposed tough sanctions on Niger.

On August 3, the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland terminated military treaties with France and demanded that France pull out its troops from the country by September 3. There is growing discontent among Nigeriens with the presence of French troops in the country, the Dubai-based Sky News Arabia television reported on August 30. According to the report, there are calls for the government to cut off food, power and water supply to the French base in Niamey in order to force the troops to leave Niger.