Supporters of Niger Coup Storm National Stadium for Military Rally

Thousands of supporters of Niger's coup leaders stormed a stadium in Niamey Sunday, appearing unfaced by threat of military intervention from regional bloc, ECOWAS, as its ultimatum to reinstate the president expired. On Niamey's streets, there were also sporadic displays of support for but no signs of opposition to the junta, which has said it will not cave in to external pressure to stand down following the July 26 power grab. Cheers greeted every sentence of a speech delivered by a representative of the new army-led administration to the packed crowd at the stadium, who stressed the junta's determination to stay in power.