Soldiers in Niger claimed to have seized control of the West African nation after President Mohamed Bazoum was detained by the presidential guard.
The security forces have “put an end to the regime” due to “the continuous degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance,” Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane said in a statement on state broadcaster Tele Sahel late Wednesday.
Niger, one of the world’s top producers of uranium, 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.
All institutions have been suspended and parliament dissolved, according to a statement made on behalf of the National Council for the Protection of the Homeland, which referred to itself by the French acronym CNSP. The group, which said it represents all the units of the security and defence forces, also imposed a curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
The claimed military takeover follows five successful coups in the past three years in West Africa — a region wracked by the growing influence of violent extremists and food insecurity brought about by climate change — including two in neighbouring Mali and two in Burkina Faso. Niger previously had a coup in 2010, when President Mamadou Tandja was removed.
The whereabouts of Bazoum, who came to power two years ago in the first democratic transfer of power in Niger since independence from France in 1960, wasn’t immediately clear.
A statement posted on Bazoum’s X handle on Thursday said Niger’s “hard-won gains will be safeguarded. All Nigeriens who love democracy and freedom will see to it.”
The soldiers’ actions drew criticism from Niger’s neighbours and international partners including France, the US and the European Union.
The US State Department urged “elements of the presidential guard to release President Bazoum from detention and refrain from violence,” according to a statement on its website.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday spoke with Bazoum, signaling US support for him as the democratically elected president.
“We call for his immediate release,” Blinken said. “We condemn any effort to seize power by force.”
Niger exports most of its uranium production to France, according to the World Nuclear Association. It produced 2,020 tons of the metal last year. An oil pipeline to neighbouring Benin is set to come online later this year.
