*Niger’s army supports military coup
The United Nations has halted its humanitarian operations in the Republic of Niger as an expression of its displeasure to an attempt by the military to oust President Mohamed Bazoum and take over power.
This was as the United States and France joined the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States to condemn the coup in the troubled Republic of Niger.
The UN humanitarian operations suspended operations in the troubled Sahel country, a spokesman said Thursday.
The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Niger has risen precipitously from 1.9 million in 2017 to 4.3 million in 2023, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
OCHA “is telling us that humanitarian operations are currently on hold, given the situation,” UN spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said.
Niger’s armed forces chief on Thursday declared his support for troops who said they had overthrown the government.
This was according to a statement signed by the army chief of staff, Abdou Issa, who said this was to “preserve the physical integrity” of the president and his family and avoid “a deadly confrontation that could create a bloodbath and affect the security of the population.”
“The military command has decided to subscribe to the declaration made by the Defence and Security Forces in order to avoid a deadly confrontation between the various forces,” he said in the statement.
Army spokesman, Colonel Major Amadou Adramane, during an appearance on national television late Wednesday, had said, “We, the defence and security forces have decided to put an end to the regime” of President Mohamed Bazoum. He was flanked by nine other uniformed soldiers in the address.
Defiant Bazoum in a tweet on Thursday said, “The hard-won achievements will be safeguarded. All Nigerians who love democracy and freedom will see to it.”
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said he had spoken to Bazoum to offer support from Washington, which deploys about 1,100 troops in Niger.
“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,” Blinken told a news conference in the New Zealand capital, Wellington.
France also condemned “all attempts to seize power by force” in Niger and demanded the release of the president seized by troops.
Paris “strongly condemns any attempt to seize power by force and joins the calls of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States to restore the integrity of Niger’s democratic institutions,” foreign minister Catherine Colonna, said on X, new Twitter name.
France called for “the freeing of President Bazoum and his family,” the foreign ministry said in a separate statement.
“We call for the respect of and immediate restoration of all of Niger’s democratic institutions,” the country, which has some 1,500 troops deployed in Niger, added.
Meanwhile, Niger’s army command on Thursday declared support for a coup instigated the previous day by soldiers of the presidential guard, saying its priority was to avoid destabilising the country.
In a statement signed by the army chief of staff, it said to “preserve the physical integrity” of the president and his family and avoid “a deadly confrontation that could create a bloodbath and affect the security of the population.’’
Also, in a video communiqué, a man identified as Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane and flanked by several apparent soldiers, announced, “We have decided to put an end to the regime that you know,” citing a deteriorating security situation in the country and “poor economic and social governance.”
President Mohamed Bazoum and Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massoudou earlier urged democratic forces in the country to resist the power grab, as Western officials said the status of the coup attempt was unclear.
The soldiers said in a late-night televised address that Bazoum had been stripped of power and the republic’s institutions had been suspended, marking the seventh coup in West and Central Africa since 2020.
They earlier cut off the presidential palace in the capital Niamey, with the president inside.
Bazoum, in a social media posting on Thursday morning, vowed to protect “hard-won” democratic gains in a country that is a pivotal ally for Western powers helping fight an insurgency in the Sahel region.
Massoudou also called on “democrats and patriots” to make the “attempted coup” fail, according to a posting on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Niamey was quiet on Thursday morning as citizens awoke to heavy rain, closed borders and a nationwide curfew imposed by the coup instigators.
Massoudou said not all of the army was involved in the coup attempt, and a number of Western officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters there was no evidence on the ground that the armed forces supported it.
(Reuters/NAN)
