Niger's President Bazoum Removed in Coup

By

Feature Image

Summary:

  • Niger's President Mohammed Bazoum was removed from power in a coup led by military forces, citing deteriorating security conditions and bad governance.
  • Supporters of the ousted president have gathered to call for his release and defend democracy.
  • The coup complicates international efforts in combating the jihadist movement in the Sahel region.
  • The United States and other nations have condemned the coup, urging for President Bazoum's immediate release.

Niger's president, Mohammed Bazoum, has been removed from power in a coup orchestrated by a group of soldiers, as announced on national TV late Wednesday. The situation escalated when Bazoum was detained for several hours by his own guards in the presidential palace. The military forces cited deteriorating security conditions and bad governance as the reasons behind their rebellion.


An army spokesman, Colonel Amadou Abdaman, declared a state of emergency with the closure of Niger's borders, implementation of a nationwide curfew, and suspension of all institutions. Supporters of the ousted president, Bazoum, have gathered outside the National Assembly in the capital, Nyami, demanding his release and defending democracy.

Niger plays a crucial role as a Western ally in combating insurgencies in the Sahel region. The coup has further complicated international efforts to fight the jihadist movement that has been spreading across Mali and the region over the past decade. Bazoum's election marked the first democratic transition of power in Niger since gaining independence from France in 1960.

The coup has elicited widespread international condemnation. While the United States called for Bazoum's immediate release and expressed unwavering support for him as the democratically elected president, the European Union, United Nations, France, and other nations have also condemned the uprising.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, 'We condemn any effort to seize power by force and will continue to actively engage with the Niger government and regional partners until the situation is resolved peacefully.' The coup marks the seventh in the West and Central Africa region since 2020.


The situation in Niger remains tense as the military asserts its control, and international scrutiny intensifies over the country's political stability and democratic principles. The fate of President Bazoum and the future direction of Niger hang in the balance as the nation grapples with this latest coup.

Location: London, UK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ukraine War: Is the defence of Bakhmut a distraction?

By
Image
Ukraine War: Is the defence of Bakhmut a distraction? I'm joined now by the former senior military intelligence officer, Philip Ingram. Good to see you again, Philip. Now, of course, Russian forces have made some advances in recent days in Bakhmut, but on the whole, there's been very little movement on the front line in recent weeks and months. Why is that? Yeah, well, exactly. Day 374 of Vladimir Putin's 10-day Special Military Operation. And the Russians, we keep talking about this spring offensive. They're probing the front lines in different places. Bakhmut will more detail that in a moment, but further north, up around Kramina and in the south, around Donetsk, they're trying to see where their weakness is in the Ukrainian defences. And they're not really finding any. The things that are influencing at the moment, the weather, the ground is softening up. ...
Read more

Why the world was wrong about Putin | Analysis

By
Image
Why the world was wrong about Putin | Analysis People are packing up in their cars. They're getting out of here. A few days before I found myself standing there on the edge of Kharkiv, watching those first tank shells hit into the apartment blocks in Saltyvka, my editor, Louis Emmanuel, had asked me to come up with something to be published on the day of the war, if the war began, explaining to readers why this was happening. And I was hoping it would never be published. It was, and the answer I came up with was, probably in the simple balance of power. I quote it, Russia's military is at its strongest and most capable since the Cold War. Its public finances are also in good order, and Mr Putin may believe he is well placed to bear the costs of the conflict and inevitable sanctions. We'll come back to that in a second. The West is conversely at a moment of historic econo...
Read more

Ukraine War: What missiles have Russia fired?

By
Image
Ukraine War: What missiles have Russia fired? I mean, he caveated his remarks so that he wasn't departing from the official government line, which is that Ukraine makes the calls here when Ukraine's ready, then Ukraine may negotiate. But the fact that he, that comment we were taking out of context, and people will say that Rishi Sunak believes that there has to be a negotiation at, so at what point are we going to lean on the Ukrainians to negotiate? And I think that in Kiev, I think it won't be very, they won't welcome the fact that he said it. It's also, it's just not true that all wars end at the negotiating table. It's a line we've heard from the beginning, right from the start. People should read a book occasionally. The Second World War did not end in negotiation. One of yours perhaps. Yes. The First World War did not end in a meaningful negotia...
Read more