Niger’s presidency has said members of the presidential guard tried to move against President Mohamed Bazoum in an apparent coup attempt, warning that the army was ready to attack them if they did not back down.
It added that Bazoum and his family were well after news agencies quoted security sources as saying that the guards were holding Bazoum inside the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey.
Bazoum supporters tried to approach the presidential complex but were dispersed by members of the presidential guard who fired warning shots, according to an AFP reporter.
Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from Abuja in neighbouring Nigeria, said there was a directive from the army for troops loyal to Bazoum to move in to quell what seemed to be a coup attempt.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission @AUC_MoussaFaki condemns the coup attempt in #Niger.https://t.co/bWYHc36OgU pic.twitter.com/kqtrX0xqWm — African Union (@_AfricanUnion) July 26, 2023.
The UN chief spoke later on Wednesday with President Bazoum and offered his “full support” to the leader who has apparently been detained in a coup attempt, a UN spokesman said.
“But … the state is very weak, it’s very poor, and it doesn’t take much to overthrow a president in Niger.”. »
