Despite mounting international pressure for the Niger’s ruling junta to step down its decision to name a new prime minister is an indication that the military is already holding on to leadership in the West African country.

“They are cementing their grip on power… they are trying to send a message that they are creating a government around them[sevles].”

Niger informed ECOWAS that it cannot host a delegation from the West African regional bloc, citing reasons of security due to what it characterised as widespread anger among the Nigerien population following sanctions imposed by the bloc.

“The current context of anger and revolt among the population following the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS makes it impossible to welcome this delegation in the required serenity and security,” Niger’s foreign affairs ministry wrote in a letter addressed to the ECOWAS representation in Niamey.

Culled from France 24

France is suspending development aid and budgetary assistance to Burkina Faso, its foreign ministry announced Sunday.

The statement comes days after Burkina Faso and Mali announced that they would consider any military intervention against the new military rulers in Niger as a “declaration of war”.

The West African bloc ECOWAS last Sunday issued Niger’s new rulers with an ultimatum to hand back power to the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum within the week or face possible military intervention.

France’s foreign ministry said on Saturday that it “firmly and resolutely” backed efforts by ECOWAS to reinstate Bazoum.

Source: AFP

General Abdourahamane Tchiani is the new leader of Niger following a military takeover, state television reported Friday, two days after the country’s president was detained by members of his own guard.

Tchiani, the head of the Presidential Guard, has been named “president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland,” a statement said.

Appearing on state television, the general said soldiers had seized power to the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel country.

The country’s elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, has been detained by the putschists since Wednesday morning.

Earlier on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron described the coup as “dangerous” for the region as Western powers scramble to preserve a key ally in the insurgent-stricken Sahel.

“This coup is completely illegitimate and profoundly dangerous, for Nigeriens, for Niger and for the whole region,” Macron said.

Macron said he had spoken to Bazoum, who is being held in his palace, and called for him to be reinstated.

Niger’s government had been seen by many in the international community as a bulwark against Islamist militancy in a vast, arid region that is beset by security challenges.

‘Last bastion of democracy in the Sahel’: Uncertainty in Niger prompts concern among allies

French and UN troops were in recent years forced to withdraw from neighbouring Mali, but Paris still has 1,500 soldiers in Niger. Bazoum’s overthrow could put the future of their deployment in doubt.

Macron, speaking during a visit to Papua New Guinea, said it was imperative that the constitutional order be restored and vowed to support regional groupings like ECOWAS in mediation or sanctions against putschists.

Source: Reuters

Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum has taken to social media to say that democracy will be “safeguarded” across the country, a day after he was seized by members of the presidential guard in a military coup attempt.

Bazoum, who was reportedly detained by some disgruntled members of the Elite Presidential Guard, vowed on Thursday to safeguard the hard-earned democracy in the West African country located in the turbulent Sahel region.

In a Thursday post on the social media platform Twitter, which is being rebranded as X, Bazoum said, “hard-won gains will be safeguarded” and that Nigeriens who love democracy will see it.

Bazoum’s statements came hours after men dressed in military attire claimed to have overthrown his government, dissolving the constitution, and closing the borders.

His remarks were echoed by Niger’s Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massoudou, who confirmed that the president was in good health.

Massoudou said he had spoken to the president and he is “in good health”, and has not been harmed by the military.

He asserted that the elected government remained the “legitimate and legal authority” of the country, insisting that, “The legal and legitimate power is the one exercised by the elected president of Niger Mohamed Bazoum.”

The top diplomat described the actions of the group of soldiers at the presidential palace as “an attempted coup d’etat” but said, “the totality of the army was not behind the coup.”

He called on “mutinous officers to return to their ranks” in an interview with French television station France 24, adding that mediation efforts had started, including those by the president of Nigeria who is “dialoguing with the military”.

Meanwhile, the attempted power grab drew strong condemnation from the United Nations and several governments.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he “strongly condemns the unconstitutional change in government” in Niger.

The foreign minister of Niger’s former colonial power France, Catherine Colonna, condemned the coup attempt, claiming Paris was opposed to “all attempts to take power by force”.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Berlin was following the events in Niger with “very great concern”.

“Violence is not a means to enforce political or personal interests,” said the ministry in a statement, which also called for Bazoum’s immediate release by the organizers of the coup.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken to Bazoum to offer Washington’s support.

The president of neighboring Benin, Patrice Talon, will head to Niamey for mediation efforts, the head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said.

In the meantime, the coupsters said “all institutions” in the country would be suspended, borders were closed and a curfew imposed “until further notice” from 10 pm to 5 am.

“We, the defense and security forces… have decided to put an end to the regime” of President Bazoum, Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane said in a televised address late Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, Niger’s presidency said that members of the presidential guard (PG) had started an “anti-republican” movement “in vain”.

The president’s office said, “Elements of the Presidential Guard (PG) had a fit of temper… (and) tried unsuccessfully to gain the support of the national armed forces and the national guard”.

It said the army and national guard were ready to attack the PG elements if they did not take a new disposition.

Bazoum was elected in April 2021, taking the helm of the impoverished country. He is one of a dwindling number of pro-Western leaders in the Sahel region, fighting against the extremists’ insurgency.

Source: Presstv

Soldiers claimed to have overthrown Niger’s government on Thursday after members of the Presidential Guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum.

Disgruntled members of the elite Presidential Guard sealed off access to the president’s residence and offices in the capital Niamey on Wednesday, and after talks broke down “refused to release the president”, a presidential source said.

“We, the defence and security forces … have decided to put an end to the regime” of President Bazoum, said Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane in a televised address, surrounded by nine other uniformed soldiers.

They said “all institutions” in the country would be suspended, borders were closed, and a curfew had been imposed “until further notice”.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union both decried what they called an “attempted coup d’état”.

A source close to Bazoum used the same term, saying the bid was “doomed to fail”.

The head of ECOWAS said Benin President Patrice Talon was heading to Niger in a mediation bid, after the latest bout of turbulence to hit the region.

President Talon was expected to arrive in Niamey Thursday to speak with both sides to resolve the crisis, after a meeting in Abuja Wednesday with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Nigerian leader said President Talon would mediate with both the Presidential Guard and Bazoum with a view to finding an agreement.

One of a dwindling group of pro-Western leaders in the Sahel, Bazoum was elected in 2021, taking the helm of a country burdened by a poverty and a history of chronic instability.

In a message on Twitter, the president’s office said “elements of the Presidential Guard (PG) had a fit of temper… (and) tried unsuccessfully to gain the support of the national armed forces and the national guard”.

“The army and national guard are ready to attack the elements of the PG who are involved in this fit of temper if they do not return to a better disposition,” the presidency said.

Niger’s Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massoudou on Thursday told FRANCE 24 the elected government was the “legitimate and legal authority” in the country.

“The legal and legitimate power is the one exercised by the elected president of Niger Mohamed Bazoum,” being held by the Presidential Guard members, Massoudou said, adding that the detained leader was “in good health”.

‘Madness’

UN chief Antonio Guterres was able to talk to Bazoum on Wednesday afternoon, his spokesman said, and “expressed his full support and solidarity”.

The United States has demanded Bazoum’s release, saying it was “deeply concerned”.

Hours after his detention, Bazoum’s supporters tried to approach the complex where he was being held, but were dispersed by members of the Presidential Guard who fired warning shots, an AFP reporter saw.

One person was hurt, but it was not immediately clear if he was injured by a bullet or from falling as the crowd scattered.

The parties of Niger’s ruling coalition in Niamey denounced “a suicidal and anti-republican madness” in a statement, saying that “certain elements of the presidential guard sequestered the President” and his family, as well as the interior minister.

ECOWAS called for Bazoum’s immediate and unconditional release, and warned all those involved would be held responsible for his safety.

The European Union said it “associates itself” with the ECOWAS statement and attacked “any attempt to destabilise democracy and threaten the stability” of Niger.

France – Niger’s former colonial power – and neighbouring Algeria also issued condemnations, as did the World Bank which said it “strongly condemns any attempt to seize power by force” or “destabilise” Niger.

Instability

The landlocked Sahel state has experienced four coups since independence from France in 1960, and numerous other attempts.

Bazoum, a former interior minister, was right-hand man to former president Mahamadou Issoufou, who voluntarily stepped down after two terms.

Their handover in April 2021, after elections won by Bazoum in a two-round contest against former president Mahamane Ousmane, marked Niger’s first peaceful transition of power since independence.

But reminders of the troubled past have never been far away.

An attempted coup took place just days before Bazoum’s inauguration, according to a security source at the time.

Several people were arrested, including the suspected ringleader, an air force captain named Sani Gourouza, and former interior minister Ousmane Cisse.

Five people, including Gourouza, were jailed in February for 20 years while Cisse was acquitted.

A second bid to oust Bazoum occurred last March “while the president … was in Turkey”, according to a Niger official, who said an arrest was made. The authorities have never commented publicly on the incident.

Poverty and jihadism

Niger is two-thirds desert and ranks close to the bottom of the UN’s Human Development Index, a benchmark of prosperity.

It has a surging population of 22.4 million, driven by a birth rate averaging seven children per woman.

Niger is struggling with two jihadist campaigns – one in the southwest, which swept in from Mali in 2015, and the other in the southeast, involving jihadists from northeastern Nigeria.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes, stoking a humanitarian crisis and further straining the economy.

The poorly equipped military is receiving training and logistical support from the United States and France, which have bases in the country.

Niger last year became the hub of France’s anti-jihadist Sahel operations.

The mission was reconfigured after French forces quit Mali and Burkina Faso after falling out with the ruling juntas in those countries.

Source: AFP

Gabon’s leader Ali Bongo Ondimba will face 18 other candidates in next month’s presidential election, authorities announced Monday.

Bongo is favourite to win a third term at the head of the oil-rich West African state ruled by his family for 55 years.

The 64-year-old, who took over from his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba in 2009, officially announced in July that he would run again.

His leading rivals include Alexandre Barro Chambrier of the opposition Rally for the Fatherland and Modernity (RPM) party and the National Union’s head Paulette Missambo.

The opposition failed to agree on a single candidate to challenge Bongo in the August 26 poll, but candidates are former ministers and part of the Alternance 2023 coalition.

Bongo’s powerful Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) holds strong majorities in both houses of parliament.

The president was narrowly re-elected in 2016, with just 5,500 more votes than rival Jean Ping who claimed the election had been fixed.

Announcement of the results sparked violence in the capital Libreville that left five dead, according to the government. The opposition says 30 people were shot dead by the security forces.

Bongo suffered a stroke in 2018 and spent months on the sidelines recovering, leaving the opposition to question his fitness to run the nation.

In April, the Gabonese parliament voted to amend the constitution and reduce the president’s term from seven to five years.

The presidential ballot will coincide with elections for the National Assembly and regional and local councils.

Gabon is one of the richest countries in Africa in terms of per capita GDP due largely to its oil revenue and relatively small population of 2.3 million.

A third of the population live below the poverty threshold, according to the World Bank.

Source: AFP