The soldiers said they had closed the country’s borders, suspended all institutions and implemented a nationwide curfew
Report culled from (inews.co.uk)
In this image taken from video provided by ORTN, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, front centre, makes a statement on Niger State TV to read out a series of communiques announcing their coup d’etat. (ORTN via AP)
A group of soldiers have declared a coup in Niger, saying President Mohamed Bazoum has been removed from power, and that a nationwide curfew is in place.
In a statement read out on national television late on Wednesday, the soldiers said they had decided to “put an end to the regime that you know due to the deteriorating security situation and bad governance.”
Colonel Amadou Abdramane, who read the statement while flanked by nine other soldiers, said Niger’s borders are closed, a nationwide curfew declared, and all institutions of the republic are suspended.
The message came hours after the Mr Bazoum was held in the presidential palace.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for the president’s immediate release, while the EU and UN condemned the uprising.
“Whether this constitutes a coup technically or not, I can’t say, that’s for the lawyers to say, but what it clearly constitutes is an effort to seize power by force and to disrupt the constitution,” Mr Blinken told a news conference in the New Zealand capital Wellington.
The soldiers warned against any foreign intervention, adding that they will respect Mr Bazoum’s wellbeing.
Land-locked Niger, a former French colony, has become a pivotal ally for Western powers seeking to help fight the insurgencies, but they are facing growing acrimony from the new juntas in charge in Mali and Burkina Faso.
Niger is also a key ally of the EU in managing migration from sub-Saharan Africa.
France moved troops to Niger from Mali last year after its relations with interim authorities there soured. It has also withdrawn special forces from Burkina Faso amid similar tensions.
Mr Bazoum’s election was the first democratic transition of power in a state that has witnessed four military coups since independence from France in 1960.
The US says it has spent around $500m since 2012 to help Niger boost its security. Germany said in April that it would take part in a three-year European military mission aimed at improving the country’s military.
Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme for Germany’s Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung think-tank, told Reuters that a coup would create an opportunity for Russia and other actors to spread their influence in Niger.
The African Union and West African regional bloc ECOWAS earlier condemned what they called an attempted coup d’etat.
The president of neighbouring Benin, Patrice Talon, flew into Niger on Wednesday afternoon to assess the situation.
“All means will be used, if necessary, to restore constitutional order in Niger, but the ideal would be for everything to be done in peace and harmony,” Mr Talon said.