Niger army general declares himself president after the coup

Niger army general Abdourahamane Tchiani announces himself the president, after ousting Mohamed Bazoum in a coup

The Niger general who staged a coup on Friday declared himself the new leader of the jihadist-hit African nation and warned that any foreign military intervention would lead to chaos.

General Abdourahamane Tchiani, head of the Presidential Guard since 2011, appeared on state television, saying he was the “president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland”.

The general, who is in his 50s and had previously kept out of public life, presented the coup as a response to “the degradation of the security situation” linked to jihadist bloodshed.

He questioned “the sense and scope of a security approach to the fight against terrorism which excludes any real collaboration with Burkina Faso and Mali” — neighbours which face similar threats.

But the putschists, who have faced international condemnation for taking power from a democratically elected president, also warned of “the consequences that will flow from any foreign military intervention”.

On the third day since President Mohamed Bazoum was detained, former colonial master France demanded the restoration of the government, saying it “does not recognize” the putschists, and calling Bazoum the “sole president”.

The UN Security Council said in a statement late Friday that it “condemned the efforts to unconstitutionally change the legitimate government” in the country.

And US Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered Bazoum Washington’s “unflagging” support and warned those detaining him that “hundreds of millions of dollars of assistance” was at risk, according to the State Department.

“Secretary Blinken underscored that the United States will continue to work to ensure the full restoration of constitutional order and democratic rule in Niger,” department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

West African leaders will meet Sunday in the Nigerian capital Abuja to discuss the coup, President Bola Tinubu said.

“ECOWAS and the international community would do everything to defend democracy and ensure democratic governance continues to take firm root in the region,” Tinubu, who is also the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States regional bloc, said in a statement.

The European Union threatened to cut aid to Niamey after what it said was a “serious attack on stability and democracy”.

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Meanwhile, two deputy directors of Bazoum’s cabinet, Daouda Takoubakoye and Oumar Moussa, also hit back, calling Tchiani’s statement “lies” and accusing the general and the Presidential Guard of having staged the coup for “personal gains”.

Sources close to Bazoum said the deposed leader had been considering replacing Tchiani after their relations soured, a decision which had been due to be made at a cabinet meeting on July 24.

Bazoum and his family have been confined since Wednesday morning to their residence at the presidential palace located within the 700-strong Presidential Guard’s military camp.

He is said to be in good health and has been able to talk by telephone to other heads of state.

The Guard chiefs who staged the coup had won broad army support by Thursday.

Armed forces chief General Abdou Sidikou Issa swung his weight behind the putsch, saying it had occurred “in order to avoid a deadly confrontation”.

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