Mutinous troopers declare to have overthrown Niger’s president

NIAMEY, Niger — Mutinous troopers 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 safety.

The troopers mentioned all establishments had been suspended and safety forces have been managing the state of affairs. They urged exterior companions to not intervene.

The announcement got here after a day of uncertainty as members of Niger’s presidential guard surrounded the presidential palace and detained President Mohamed Bazoum. It was unclear the place the president was on 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 drive Col. Major Amadou Abdramane mentioned on the video. Seated at a desk in entrance of 9 different officers, he mentioned aerial and land borders have been closed and a curfew was imposed till the state of affairs stabilized.

The group, which is looking itself National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, mentioned it remained dedicated to its engagements with the worldwide and nationwide neighborhood.

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 acquire assist from different safety forces. It mentioned Bazoum and his household have been doing nicely however that Niger’s military and nationwide guard “are ready to attack” if these concerned within the motion didn’t again down.

The commissions of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States described the occasions as an effort to unseat Bazoum, who was elected president two years in the past within the nation’s first peaceable, democratic switch of energy since its independence from France in 1960.

Threats to Bazoum’s management would undermine the West’s efforts to stabilize Africa’s Sahel area, which has been overrun with coups in recent times. Mali and Burkina Faso have had 4 coups since 2020, and each are being overrun by extremists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger in March, looking for to strengthen ties with a rustic the place extremists have carried out assaults on civilians and navy personnel however the total safety state of affairs was not as dire as in neighboring nations.

During a cease in New Zealand on Thursday, Blinken repeated the U.S. condemnation of the mutiny towards Niger‘s president and mentioned his group was in shut contact with officers 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.”

Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program on the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, mentioned the mutiny was a “nightmare scenario for Western powers who had betted on Bazoum and Niger as new security anchor for the Sahel.”

“It remains to be seen whether this is the last word. Parts of the army are probably still loyal to Bazoum. They benefited much from equipment and training as part of foreign military assistance,” Laessing mentioned.

Before the announcement, a whole lot of individuals took to the streets of the capital, Niamey, and chanted “No coup d’etat” whereas marching in assist of the president. Multiple rounds of gunfire that appeared to come back from the presidential palace dispersed the demonstrators and despatched individuals scrambling for canopy, based on an Associated Press reporter on the scene.

“We are here to show the people that we are not happy about this movement going on, just to show these military people that they can’t just take the power like this,” protester Mohammed Sidi mentioned. “We are a democratic country, we support democracy and we don’t need this kind of movement.”

The worldwide neighborhood strongly condemned the tried seizure of energy.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to Bazoum on Wednesday afternoon and “expressed his full assist and solidarity,“ the U.N. spokesperson tweeted.

Earlier, Guterres condemned any effort to grab energy by drive ”within the strongest phrases” and referred to as on “all actors involved to exercise restraint and to ensure the protection of constitutional order,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric mentioned.

The governments of France and the United States additionally voiced concern and urged the collaborating guardsmen to alter course. Bazoum’s administration has made Niger a key Western associate within the struggle towards Islamist extremism in Africa’s Sahel area.

“We strongly condemn any effort to detain or subvert the functioning of Niger’s democratically elected government, led by President Bazoum,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan mentioned. “We specifically urge elements of the presidential guard to release President Bazoum from detention and refrain from violence.”

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who was chosen this month because the ECOWAS Commission’s chairman, mentioned the regional bloc’s management would resist any try to unseat Niger‘s authorities.

“It should be quite clear to all players in the Republic of Niger that the leadership of the ECOWAS region and all lovers of democracy around the world will not tolerate any situation that incapacitates the democratically elected government of the country,” Tinubu mentioned in an announcement he issued in Abuja. “We will do everything within our powers to ensure democracy is firmly planted, nurtured, well rooted and thrives in our region.”