Niger: soldiers declare coup on national TV as president is held

Soldiers in the West African country of Niger have announced a coup on national TV.

They have claimed to have overthrown Niger’s democratically elected president, and have put an end to the country's deteriorating security.

Niger President Mohamed Bazoum has been held by troops from the presidential guard since early on Wednesday (26 July). It was unclear where the president was at the time of the announcement or if he had resigned.

In the soldier's address late on Wednesday, they said all institutions had been suspended and security forces were managing the situation.

Air Force colonel major Amadou Abdramane said in the video: “This is as a result of the continuing degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance.”

He also said that all of the country's institutions had been suspended and that the heads of the ministries would take care of day-to-day business.

"All external partners are asked not to interfere," he went on. "Land and air borders are closed until the situation has stabilised."

He said aerial and land borders were closed and a curfew would take effect from 22:00 until 05:00 local time until further notice until the situation is stabilised.

Col Maj Abdramane said the soldiers were acting for the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) and it said it remained committed to its engagements with the international and national community.

After the soldiers' TV announcement, Mr Blinken called for the release of President Bazoum.

He told a news conference in New Zealand that "what it clearly constitutes is an effort to seize power by force and to disrupt the constitution".

Earlier on 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 Mr 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 Mr 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.

Threats to Mr Bazoum’s leadership would undermine the West’s efforts to stabilise Africa’s Sahel region, which has been overrun with coups in recent years.

Since 2020, Mali and Burkina Faso have had four coups, and both are being overrun by extremists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

US Secretary of state Antony Blinken visited Niger in March, seeking to strengthen ties with a country where extremists have carried out attacks on civilians and military personnel but the overall security situation was not as dire as in neighbouring nations.

During a stop in New Zealand on Thursday, Mr Blinken repeated the US condemnation of the mutiny against Niger’s president and said his team was in close contact with officials in France and Africa.

Mr Blinken added that he had spoken with Mr Bazoum on Wednesday, saying that he “made clear that we strongly support him as the democratically elected president of the country”.

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, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

Protester Mohammed Sidi said: “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.

“We are a democratic country, we support democracy and we don’t need this kind of movement.”

The international community strongly condemned the attempted seizure of power.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to Mr Bazoum on Wednesday afternoon and “expressed his full support and solidarity”, the UN spokesperson tweeted.