Niger coup faces growing condemnation amid calls to free Mohamed Bazoum

The head of Niger’s armed forces said he endorsed a declaration by troops who announced a military takeover overnight and the detention of the President Mohamed Bazoum.

On Thursday, the military command of the Nigerien armed forces “subscribed” to the declaration by the defence and security forces to avoid a deadly confrontation between the various forces, AFP reported, citing Gen Abdou Sidikou Issa.

The announcements are another blow to Mr Bazoum, after Nigerien soldiers appeared on the country's national TV station on Wednesday to announce that the president and government had been removed from power, shortly after African organisations reported an attempted coup.

Col Amadou Abdramane said the country's defence and security forces decided to "put an end to the regime that you know due to the deteriorating security situation and bad governance", Reuters reported.

He also announced that a nationwide curfew had begun, while the country's borders were shut.

Mr Bazoum was elected president two years ago in the country's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960.

The landlocked state is one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the world, experiencing four coups since 1960, as well as numerous other attempts – including two previously against Mr Bazoum.

Mr Bazoum's government has made Niger a key partner of the West in the fight against Islamist extremism in Africa's Sahel region.

“We strongly condemn any effort to detain or subvert the functioning of Niger’s democratically elected government, led by President Bazoum,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.

“We specifically urge elements of the presidential guard to release President Bazoum from detention and refrain from violence.”

All activities by political parties in Niger have been suspended until further notice, Col Abdramane said on state television on Thursday, after the army declared allegiance to leaders of the coup that toppled the government.

In the latest turbulence to shake the coup-prone Sahel, Mr Bazoum was confined on Wednesday by members of his presidential guard.

Hours later, their leaders, calling themselves the Defence and Security Forces (FDS), declared they had "decided to put an end to the regime", announcing that all institutions were being suspended, the borders closed and a night-time curfew imposed.

As African and international organisations condemned the declared takeover and allies France and the United States voiced their support for Niger's elected leader, Mr Bazoum stood his ground.

"The hard-won gains will be safeguarded," he said on Twitter, which is being rebranded as X. "All Nigeriens who love democracy and freedom would want this."

Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massoudou said Niger's "legal and legitimate power" was the one exercised by its elected president.

There had been a "coup bid" but "the whole of the army was not involved", he told France24 television.

"We ask all the fractious soldiers to return to their ranks," he said. "Everything can be achieved through dialogue but the institutions of the republic must function."

But armed forces chief Genl Abdou Sidikou Issa dealt a hefty blow to those hopes.

"The military command ... has decided to subscribe to the declaration made by the Defence and Security Forces... in order to avoid a deadly confrontation between the various forces," he said in a statement.

Several hundred people, some of them holding Russian flags, took part in a show of support in Niamey for the coup leaders, AFP journalists reported.

International condemnation

The president of neighbouring Benin, Patrice Talon, was expected in the capital for mediation efforts, the head of the Economic Community of West African States said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken to Mr Bazoum to offer Washington's support, while UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned "the unconstitutional change in government" in Niger

Russia, which has been isolated internationally since invading Ukraine in February 2022, joined the countries appealing for Mr Bazoum's release.

It urged "all parties to the conflict to refrain from the use of force and [to] resolve all disputes through peaceful and constructive dialogue".

In Brussels, the European Union said Niger was "an essential partner ... whose destabilisation would not serve the interest of anyone in the country, the region or beyond".