Niger will face sanctions as democracy falls apart, adding to woes for more than 25 million people

By SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Neighboring nations are levying economic sanctions over a coup last week that toppled one of the West’s last democratic partners against West African extremists, and families in one of the world’s poorest nations could pay the price. In the capital of Niger, many people live in makeshift shelters tied together with slats of wood, sheets and plastic tarps because they can’t pay rent, and they scramble daily to make enough money to feed their children. Niger’s neighbors are threatening armed intervention against the junta run by the head of the presidential guard, although analysts say there is only a slim chance of the regional body successfully sending troops. France and the U.S. train Nigerien forces, and the French military carries out joint operations in the north.