Bazoum was barricaded in the presidential palace in the country’s capital, Niamey late Wednesday. In a brief video statement Col. Amadou Abdramane, flanked by nine other military officers, said they had toppled Bazoum because of “the deteriorating security situation” in the West African nation and due to “bad governance.”
They added that the country’s institutions had been suspended, its borders closed and a curfew implemented. They also warned against any foreign intervention, adding that Bazoum would not be harmed in the transition of power.
Niger’s Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massoudou also posted an appeal on Twitter Thursday, urging “all democrats and patriots” to defeat what he termed this “perilous adventure,” which he said endangered the nation home to some 27 million people. “Long live democracy, long live Niger,” he said, calling himself the interim head of government while the president was being held.
The coup in Niger is the latest to hit the impoverished Sahel region in recent years after ones in Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, as well as Sudan and Guinea farther afield and was immediately condemned internationally.
“We condemn any efforts to seize power by force,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters late Wednesday, adding that he was monitoring developments in Niger “very closely” and had spoken with Bazoum to make “clear that the United States resolutely supports him as the democratically elected president, and we call for his immediate release.”
“We’re actively engaged with the Niger government, but also with partners in the region and around the world and will continue to do so until the situation is resolved appropriately and peacefully.”
Blinken said that it was for lawyers to determine whether the developments in Niger technically constitute a coup.
“But what it clearly constitutes is an effort to seize power by force and to disrupt the constitution,” he said, adding that he had been in conversation with counterparts in France and other allies about the situation.
U.S. Africa Command, which is responsible for American military relations in Africa, also said in a statement that it will continue to “monitor the situation in Niamey” and is working with the State Department.
Niger’s military and air force have received support and training from the United States, including at the Air Force Academy in Colorado and at the Air War College in Alabama, according to a 2021 summary released by the U.S. Embassy in Niamey.
Nestled between Chad and Mali, about 800 U.S. troops at a time have been deployed to Niger, Pentagon officials have said, and the U.S. military operates drones from an air base in Agadez, in central Niger.
The power grab could lead to further insecurity in the region, which is grappling with violence from Islamist insurgencies both in the Lake Chad region and near Niger’s borders with Mali and Burkina Faso.
African Union Chairman Moussa Faki Mahama said in a statement that he “strongly condemned” what he labeled an “attempted coup” in Niger. He said the move would “undermine the stability of democratic and republican institutions,” and urged the military to “immediately cease these unacceptable actions.”
United Nations’ Secretary General António Guterres also condemned the ouster and said the situation would be monitored “closely.”
“He condemns in the strongest terms any effort to seize power by force and to undermine democratic governance, peace and stability in Niger,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres said in a statement.
The former French colony has experienced four coups since its independence from France in 1960. Bazoum was elected in a peaceful, democratic election in 2021 following two terms under Mahamadou Issoufou.
Rachel Chason, Michael Birnbaum and Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.
