Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
28 July 2023 | 10:40am SAST
1 min read

Picture: Reuters               

President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger was reportedly captured by members of the presidential guard on Wednesday July 26. Individuals dressed in military fatigues assert that they have assumed control.

On July 26, Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane delivered a televised address to announce a military coup in the country. He cited a deteriorating security situation, and poor economic and social governance in Niger as reasons for the attempted coup d’etat, according to reports.

In the statement, Abramane also announced the closure of Niger’s land borders and airspace, a national curfew, as well as the suspension of the constitution and all national institutions.

Since 2020, this is the seventh coup in West and Central Africa, according to a Reuters report.

The coup has sparked widespread condemnation, and leaders from around the globe urge the insurgents to halt in their tracks, release President Bazoum and restore the country to order.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) released the following statement “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.”

Germany, France, the United States of America, and Brazil were among other countries that denounced the mutiny.

On Thursday, July 27, after the army command asseverated its support of the rebellion that was initiated by soldiers of the presidential guard, other supporters of the coup marauded the headquarters of the ruling party and set it alight.

The interior ministry later aired a statement on state television that condemned violence and vandalism. The statement included a ban on protests and demonstrations until further notice.

On the morning of the 27^th, Bazoum announced in a post on social media that he vowed to protect Niger’s hard-earned democratic progress.

Democratic forces in the country have been urged to resist the attempted military takeover.

Hamadou Souley, Niger’s interior minister, was also arrested by the presidential guard on Wednesday morning local time and is being held in the presidential palace in the capital Niamey along with Bazoum, according to a CNN report.

Numerous reports indicate that Hassoumi Massoudou, Niger Foreign Minister, said that Bazoum was well and in good health.