Kidnapped by soldiers who claim to have overthrown him, Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum rejected, Thursday, July 27, this coup d’etat carried out in the presidential residence of the capital, Niamey. “The hard-won gains will be safeguarded. All democracy and freedom-loving Nigeriens will see to it,” Mr. Bazoum said in a message posted Thursday morning on Twitter, renamed X, hours after soldiers announced on national television that they had overthrown him.
“We are the legitimate and legal authorities”, for his part declared on France 24 Hassoumi Massaoudou, head of Nigerien diplomacy and head of government ad interim, in the absence of the Prime Minister who was traveling at the time of the putsch. “There was a coup attempt”, but “it was not the whole army that initiated this coup”, assured Mr. Massaoudou, from Niamey. “We call on these factious officers to return to ranks. Everything can be achieved through dialogue, but the institutions of the Republic must work,” he continued.
The president’s right-hand man also launched “an appeal to all Nigerien patriots and democrats to stand up as one to say no to this factional action which tends to set us back ten years and block the progress of our country.
A few hundred French nationals on site
France does not consider the “attempted” coup in Niger to be “final”, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Friday. President Emmanuel Macron spoke several times to his Nigerien counterpart Mohamed Bazoum, who told him he was “in good health”, she told reporters on the sidelines of the French head of state’s visit to Papua New Guinea. New Guinea.
Paris is “obviously asking for the release of President Bazoum and his family, their full security and the return to constitutional order, the restoration of democratic integrity, the restoration of legal authorities,” added the minister, who estimated around “500 or 600” the number of French nationals in Niger at the moment. “Precautionary measures have been taken, there have been no reported incidents against compatriots,” Ms Colonna said.
On Wednesday evening, putschist soldiers announced on national television that they had overthrown the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, in power since 2021. “This follows the continuous deterioration of the security situation, poor economic and social governance”, declared Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane, surrounded by nine other soldiers in uniform.
After Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger, hitherto allied with Western countries, becomes the third country in the Sahel undermined by attacks by groups linked to the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, to experience a coup d’etat since 2020.
The coup in Niger is a new example of a “worrying trend” in the Sahel, which has seen several “unconstitutional changes” of governments in countries already affected by “violent extremism”, Antonio Guterres lamented on Thursday, the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN).
Separately, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the organization’s humanitarian operations “are suspended” due to the coup. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Niger has increased from 1.9 million in 2017 to 4.3 million in 2023, and the number of Severely food insecure people are expected to reach 3 million during the lean season (June to August), before the next harvest.
Putsch condemned and release demanded by international bodies
The junta, which brings together all the corps of the army, the gendarmerie and the police, suspended the institutions, closed the land and air borders, established a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. (9 p.m. to 4 a.m. Paris time). On Thursday, the military accused France of violating border closures by landing a military plane at Niamey International Airport. They called “once and for all for strict compliance with the arrangements” made by the junta.
The announcement came after a tense day Wednesday in Niamey, marked by what the regime had called “a mood swing” by the presidential guard who is keeping President Bazoum at his official residence.
The announced putsch was strongly condemned by all of Niger’s partners and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Volker Türk called on Thursday, along with the European Union (EU), for the Nigerien president to be “immediately and unconditionally released”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was able to speak with Mr. Bazoum on Wednesday, to assure him “clearly that the United States stands firmly behind him as the democratically elected president of Niger”, demanding his immediate release.
Russian diplomacy also wished Thursday the “rapid release” of the Nigerien president. In her statement, Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, added calling on both sides “to refrain from the use of force and to resolve all contentious issues through peaceful and constructive dialogue”.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), currently chaired by Nigeria, “demands the immediate release of President Mohamed Bazoum who remains the legitimate and legal President of Niger recognized by ECOWAS”. According to the head of French diplomacy, “ECOWAS has explained itself with the greatest clarity” and “will hold a summit meeting probably on Sunday. »
The NGO Human Rights Watch has called on “the military forces responsible for the coup in Niger” to “immediately restore fundamental human rights”.
Incidents during a demonstration in support of the military putschists
Incidents occurred during a demonstration Thursday in Niamey, in front of the National Assembly, where hundreds of people, who had gathered to support the putschist soldiers, waved Russian flags and chanted anti-French slogans, saw journalists from Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Among these people, young people went to the headquarters of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS, in power), a few kilometers from the rally, where they looted the building and set fire to cars parked on the car park. During the demonstration, a vehicle drove into the crowd before being damaged and its driver molested, according to an AFP journalist. A deputy who took part in the demonstration was stone-thrown, then was exfiltrated by other demonstrators.
Russia moved closer to Mali and Burkina Faso led by putschist soldiers who demanded the departure of French troops, still present in Niger with 1,500 men.