Niger military not detaining foreigners
As some European countries began evacuating their citizens following the coup, an unfounded claim started circulating that the junta had ordered the army to detain Europeans.
It alleged this was done to get Western countries to withdraw their forces from Niger.
The claim seems to be based on a call by the M62 movement, which is a pro-junta and anti-French group, for European nationals to be held hostage until foreign forces leave.
The group, however, does not represent the junta.
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However, a video of a Russian military plane supposedly landing in Niamey, the capital of Niger, has been circulating - along with speculation that “Wagner forces have already begun to enter the city”.
BBC Verify carried out a search for previous versions of this video available online and found that it was posted on YouTube in 2006, and in fact shows the plane landing in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
The French company involved in mining uranium in Niger, Orano Group, said that its activities had continued at the Arlit and Akokan sites and at its headquarters in Niamey following the coup.
“Algeria will not sit idly by while an invasion of a neighbouring country takes place,” one Twitter post said, attributing this to “Algerian news outlets”.
The West African regional bloc, Ecowas, has threatened to intervene (including possibly militarily) if the deposed president is not restored to power.
It did post on 30 July that “Algeria will not sit idly while a neighbouring country is being invaded,” but made clear this was its own analysis of what might happen - not a statement of government policy.
