Niger, a West African country, has been rocked by the recent news that mutinous soldiers have overthrown its democratically elected president.
The National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country announced their detaining of President Mohamed Bazoum on state television late Wednesday, citing deteriorating security and poor economic and social governance as the main reasons for their action.
The incident has sparked international outcry, with many countries condemning this move and offering their support to Bazoum.
The coup began when members of Niger’s presidential guard surrounded the presidential palace and detained President Mohamed Bazoum Wednesday morning.
This was followed by an announcement from the National Council for Safeguarding of the Country on state television later in the day that they had put an end to all government institutions.
All aerial and land borders were closed immediately and a curfew was declared until further notice.
The group clarified that they remained committed to engaging with both internal and external partners even though they had taken control of power in Niger.
It is unclear what happened to President Bazoum at the time but it is known that he spoke with U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken who expressed his strong support for him as democratically elected leader shortly after this incident took place.
Although it appears there may be some military infighting involved in this situation, it does not appear that any outside forces are involved or backing this revolt at this time.
Before announcing their takeover, hundreds of people marched in support of President Mohamed Bazoum chanting “No coup d’etat!”
Unfortunately these protests were cut short when gunfire erupted seemingly coming from within or near the Presidential Palace leaving many scrambling for cover.
The attempted overthrow has been met with condemnation from countries around world such as France, the United States, the United Nations as well as regional entities like Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS).
ECOWAS leadership released a statement saying they would not accept any attempt to unseat Mr. Bazoum as head of state.
Ulf Laessing, head of Sahel Program at Konrad Adenauer Foundation said Western powers who betted on Mr. Bazoums leadership would face a nightmare should things go wrong.
