In the West African country of Niger, there may have been a coup attempt by the president’s guard. According to media reports, the elite unit is said to have blocked access to the palace of Head of State Mohamed Bazoum in the capital Niamey and arrested the president.
Access to other surrounding ministries was also reportedly blocked. In addition, the guard is said to have surrounded the building of the national radio station. The Presidential Guard is an elite unit of the Army. According to reports, President Bazoum was negotiating with military officials.
The President’s Office later said on Twitter that Bazoum and his family are doing well. It also threatened a counterattack: the army and the national guard are ready to attack the presidential guard if they don’t withdraw.
UN chief António Guterres condemned “in the strongest possible terms any effort to seize power and undermine governance, peace and stability in Niger.” Guterres said he was following the situation closely. The UN chief called on all those involved to “restrain and safeguard the constitutional order”.
The US government was “deeply concerned” about the developments. She called on the members of the Presidential Guard involved to release the head of state and to refrain from violence. It is not yet entirely clear what exactly happened, emphasized the communications director of the National Security Council, John Kirby.
German soldiers “safe for now”
A spokesman for the Defense Ministry in Berlin said it was too early to assess the situation. The German soldiers deployed in the country are “safe for now”. How to proceed must be evaluated in the coming days. The Bundeswehr maintains an air transport base in Niamey for military engagements in West Africa, where around 100 German soldiers work. This base is also important for the ongoing withdrawal of the German armed forces from neighboring Mali.
In the meantime, according to information from the dpa, practical operations at the airport in Niamey had also stopped, but were then resumed. On Wednesday afternoon, clearance was up and running again.
In Berlin, after the first reports about the possible attempted putsch, the Foreign Office initially had no precise picture of the situation. “It is the case that, as my colleagues have reported to me, the situation on the ground is still very unclear. We are in contact with our local embassy as well as with international partners,” said a spokeswoman for the Federal Foreign Office. “And if it is necessary, we will of course take appropriate measures.”
Last country in the Sahel with a democratically elected government
An overthrow would have far-reaching consequences. With around 26 million inhabitants, Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world. After military coups in Mali and Burkina Faso, the country is the last of the three neighboring countries in the Sahel to be led by a democratically elected government. At the end of last year, the EU decided on a military mission in Niger to combat terrorism in the region. So far, the Bundeswehr has only provided a few soldiers who are in Niamey for this EU mission.
There was already an attempted coup in the West African country in 2021, when a military unit tried to storm the presidential palace a few days before Bazoum took office. At the time, however, the Presidential Guard repulsed the attack.