Niger’s presidency said the army is on standby to strike back against members of the Presidential Guard who seized control of President Mohamed Bazoum’s official residence and the presidential palace.
“The president of the republic and his family are doing well,” the presidency said in a brief statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. An earlier statement that said elements of the Presidential Guard engaged in an “anti-Republican” movement had failed to obtain support, was subsequently deleted.
Bazoum has been detained by “coup plotters” who are attempting to seize power by force, the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States said in a separate statement, as it joined the African Union, Algeria and Nigeria in urging the soldiers to abandon the tentative power grab. Several armed pickup-trucks could be seen outside public broadcaster ORTN in the capital, Niamey, according to witnesses.
Niger is a linchpin in the fight against jihadists and other armed groups in West Africa’s Sahel region, at the southern fringe of the Sahara Desert. France has deployed troops, its largest military operation abroad, while the US has a $110 million drone base in the central city of Agadez.
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“I spoke with President Bazoum earlier this morning and made clear that the United States resolutely supports him as the democratically elected president,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a visit to New Zealand on Thursday. “We call for his immediate release. We condemn any effort to seize power by force.”
The country is among the world’s biggest uranium producers, with most of its output exported to France, according to the World Nuclear Association. It produced 2,020 tons of the metal last year. An oil pipeline to neighboring Benin is set to come online later this year.
Bazoum came to power in 2021 in what was widely seen as the first democratic transfer of power since independence from France in 1960. His election took place just days after the security forces thwarted an attempt by an army unit to seize the presidential palace.
There have been five successful coups since 2020 in West Africa, a region wracked by the growing influence of violent extremists and food insecurity brought about by climate change, including two in neighboring Mali and and two in Burkina Faso.
“It should be quite clear to all players in the Republic of Niger that the leadership of the Ecowas region and all lovers of democracy around the world will not tolerate any situation that incapacitates the democratically elected government of the country,” Nigeria’s government said in a statement.