Another coup in Africa as mutinous soldiers claim to have overthrown Niger’s president
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Niger soldiers claim to have overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum following an apparent coup in the West African nation on Wednesday
Niger soldiers claim to have overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum following an apparent coup in the West African nation on Wednesday.
Mutinous soldiers claimed to have overthrown Niger’s democratically elected president, announcing on state television late Wednesday that they have put an end to the government over the African country’s deteriorating security.
The soldiers said all institutions had been suspended and security forces were managing the situation.
The mutineers urged external partners not to interfere.
“We, the defence and security forces… have decided to put an end to the regime” of President Bazoum, Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane said in a televised address late Wednesday.
The announcement came after a day of uncertainty as members of Niger’s presidential guard surrounded the presidential palace and detained President Mohamed Bazoum.
There was no immediate indication of whether the mutiny was supported by other parts of the military.
It was unclear where the president was at the time of the announcement or if he had resigned.
“This is as a result of the continuing degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance,” air force Col. Major Amadou Abdramane said on the video. Seated at a table in front of nine other officers, he said aerial and land borders were closed and a curfew was imposed until the situation stabilized.
The group, which is calling itself National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, said it remained committed to its engagements with the international and national community.
Earlier Wednesday, a tweet from the account of Niger’s presidency reported that members of the elite guard unit engaged in an “anti-Republican demonstration” and unsuccessfully tried to obtain support from other security forces.
It said Bazoum and his family were doing well but that Niger’s army and national guard “are ready to attack” if those involved in the action did not back down.
“The army and national guard are ready to attack the elements of the PG who are involved in this fit of temper if they do not return to a better disposition,” the presidency said.
The commissions of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States described the events as an effort to unseat Bazoum, who was elected president two years ago in the nation’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemnedthe mutiny against Niger’s president and said his team was in close contact with officials in France and Africa.
Blinken added that he had spoken with Bazoum on Wednesday, saying that he “made clear that we strongly support him as the democratically elected president of the country.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who spoke to Bazoum in the afternoon to express “his full support and solidarity,“ issued a strong condemnation of the mutineeers late Wednesday.
“He is deeply disturbed by the detention of President Mohamed Bazoum and is concerned for his safety and well-being,” said Guterres’ spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric.
Niger has experienced four coups since its 1960 independence, and numerous other attempts.
Bazoum, a former interior minister, was the right-hand man to former president Mahamadou Issoufou, who voluntarily stepped down after two terms.
An attempted coup took place just days before Bazoum’s inauguration, according to a security source at the time.
Several people were arrested, including the suspected ringleader. Five people were jailed in February for 20 years.
A second bid to oust Bazoum occurred last March “while the president… was in Turkey”, according to a Niger official, who said an arrest was made.
The authorities have never commented publicly on the incident.
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