NIAMEY, Niger
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.
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.
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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 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.
Before the announcement,
hundreds of people took to the streets of the capital, Niamey, and chanted “No
coup d’etat” while marching in support of the president. Multiple
rounds of gunfire that appeared to come from the presidential palace dispersed
the demonstrators and sent people scrambling for cover.
The international community
strongly condemned the attempted seizure of power.
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