Nigeriens took to the streets of Niamey on Friday to protest against the West African bloc ECOWAS' plans of waging a military intervention in the country in efforts to reinstate Western-backed Nigerien leader President Mohamad Bazoum. 

On Thursday, ECOWAS voted to approve a "standby force" as part of their plan to carry out military action against the new leadership in Niger.

🇳🇪🇫🇷 Thousands of supporters of Niger's coup leaders gather in front of the French base in Niamey.

Crowds calling for French troops to leave Niger. pic.twitter.com/rH8cXYSixE

— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) August 11, 2023

On Friday, sources said that the Chiefs of Staff from ECOWAS member states were due to hold a meeting on Saturday in Accra, Ghana.

The meeting was later reported to have been suspended indefinitely due to "technical reasons." 

According to sources, the meeting was initially intended to inform ECOWAS leaders about the available options for deploying the standby force. 

As of now, no details on the force or schedule for action have been provided. ECOWAS leaders have nonetheless emphasized their want for a peaceful solution.

Although the meeting in Ghana was canceled, this didn't prevent supporters of the junta in Niger to wage a rally in front of a French military base on the outskirts of Niamey on Friday. 

As they were rallying, protesters were heard chanting "Down with France, down with ECOWAS."

"We are going to make the French leave! ECOWAS isn't independent, it's being manipulated by France," Aziz Rabeh Ali, a member of a students' union, told AFP.

Read more: An attack on Niger could unleash war across Africa: Bazoum's advisor

France still holds about 1,500 troops stationed in Niger.

After years of failing to defeat rampant terror groups across the Sahel, the former colonial power is met with growing hostility on the part of the Nigerien people. 

Last Tuesday, French senators wrote an open letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, calling for a review of France's policy in Africa. 

They said that the failure of Operation Barkhane was in great part the reason why France and its economic, political, and military presence are now rejected in those countries, namely Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and the Central African Republic

Wagner PMC has come to replace France's strategic role in peacekeeping operations, the letter states, adding that Russia's success is owed to the assistance they provide to leaders that hold on to power on the basis that they manipulate the anti-colonial narrative. 

Observers argue that the failure of Operation Barkhane was in fact intentional.

France has never had any intention of truly restoring peace in Africa because doing so would strengthen Africa, and a strong Africa goes against the interests of the French capitalist class.

Moreover, the allegation that African leaders manipulate the anti-colonial narrative to grab onto power is a subtle way to threaten the popular bases that support these leaders -- that if they do not fall back into submission to France, the peoples of Africa will be faced with consequences. 

The new leadership under Abdourahamane Tchiani last week annulled a slew of military cooperation agreements with the European country and halted uranium and gold exports to its former colonizer.

ECOWAS' escalating threats, which were backed mainly by France and the United States, prompted Mali and Burkina Faso to announce that any attack on Niger would be considered a "declaration of war" against their countries.

Read more: One of 'US' favorite generals' leads Niger coup: WSJ