STOCKSHOTS of people crossing the Niger River aboard dugout canoes, and lines of hundreds of trucks stretching back many kilometres since the closure of the border between the Beninese town of Malanville and the town of Gaya following the coup in Niger. After 15-member West African bloc ECOWAS banned trade with Niger and threatened military action to restore democracy, the new junta also blockaded a bridge border crossing with Benin. STOCKSHOTS