Niger ex-rebel launches anti-coup movement in first sign of internal resistance

The challenge from Ag Boula raises the spectre of internal conflict in Niger, a major uranium producer that hosts thousands of US and Western European troops as part of international efforts to contain Islamist insurgents in the Sahel.

A former rebel leader and politician in Niger has launched a movement opposing the junta that took power in a July 26 coup, a first sign of internal resistance to army rule in the strategically important Sahel country.