Roughly twenty members of the Presidential Guard could be seen outside the palace complex later in the day.Ī statement on the presidency’s social media channels said President Mohamed Bazoum is “doing well” and the army and national guard were “ready to attack the elements of the GP involved in this fit of anger if they do not return to their better senses.” CNN cannot verify the statement. Niger’s presidential complex was sealed off Wednesday, with heavily armed members of the Presidential Guard assembling outside the Presidential Palace early that morning. The source did not reveal what exactly was being discussed. Wednesday’s fast moving events in Niger prompted intense discussions between the country’s Presidential Guard and government authorities, a source close to the president told CNN. “Violence is not a means to enforce political or personal interests,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Germany said it is following events in Niger with “very great concern.” “(France) strongly condemns any attempt to seize power by force and joins the calls of the African Union and ECOWAS to restore the integrity of Nigerien democratic institutions,” Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the partnership between Washington and the West African country is contingent on its “continued commitment to democratic standards.”įrance also described the unfolding events as an attempted power grab. White House officials said they “strongly condemn any effort to detain or subvert the functioning of Niger’s democratically elected government.” “ECOWAS condemns in the strongest terms the attempt to seize power by force and calls on the coup plotters to free the democratically-elected President of the Republic immediately and without any condition,” the bloc added. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said that there had been an “attempt to seize power by force” in the West African country. “It is in the interests of all the people of Niger that the important democratic gains made in recent years are safeguarded and preserved,” he added. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Thursday he is “shocked and distressed” by the attempted military takeover in Niger, urging “all actors to refrain from violence.” While events inside Niger remained murky, including the precise whereabouts of Bazoum, international criticism of the attempted coup grew overnight. In 2017, four US special forces soldiers were killed in an ambush by more than 100 ISIS fighters in Niger. Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries, has “endemic problems, poverty, and terrorism, so there are many factors contributing to instability in the country,” he added. “If the military is more concerned with domestic politics, then there is a risk that they are no longer going to be fighting the fight against these terrorist groups that are now encroaching on Niger and on the capital,” he added. “It’s a very fragile state and a very fluid situation right now and until we hear more from the coup plotters themselves it’s hard to know exactly what their motivations are right now,” he told CNN. Cameron Hudson, a senior associate at the Center for the Strategic and International Studies, said there had been indications that Niger’s military leadership were not pleased with the level of support they were given to fight militants and that a coup could impact that campaign.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |