Niger coup 'dethrones' President Mohamed Bazoum: Here's what we know so far

Nigeriens awoke to a divided country Thursday after mutinous soldiers claimed to have ousted the President, with reports indicating that the presidential guards had confined Mohamed Bazoum in the presidential palace in the capital Niamey.

But Niger's government said it will never accept their rule and has called for the population to reject it.

“There was an attempted coup, but of course, we cannot accept it,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassoumi Massoudou told news network France 24 in an interview on Thursday.

“We call on all Nigerien democratic patriots to stand up as one to say no to this factious action that tends to set us back decades and block the progress of our country,” he said. He also called for the president's unconditional release and said talks were ongoing.

President Bazoum was elected in 2021 in the West African nation’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960.

He thwarted a coup attempt days before he was sworn in.

The mutinous soldiers behind the latest move announced that they have put an end to the government over the African country's deteriorating security.

The soldiers said all institutions had been suspended and security forces were managing the situation.

The perpetrators urged external partners not to interfere, adding that they have shut down the border and imposed a curfew "until further notice".

Curiously, Bazoum's social media account announced on Thursday that he will work to protect "hard-won" democratic gains in his country.

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

It's unclear, however, who has control of Bazoum's account, as it was earlier reported that he had been detained by the military. It's also not clear where the president was at the time of the announcement, or if he was forced to resign from his post.

Bazoum had only been in office for two years, assuming office in April 2021, after winning a runoff election two months earlier.

Threats to Bazoum’s leadership could undermine efforts to stabilise Africa’s Sahel region, which has been overrun with coups in recent years.

Following the reported coup attempt, Bazoum's supporters tried to approach the presidential complex but were dispersed by members of the Presidential Guard who fired warning shots, according to AFP news agency.

One person was hurt, but it was not immediately clear if he was injured by a bullet or from falling as the crowd scattered.

Here's what we know so far about the attempted military takeover in the West African country that has faced frequent periods of unrest:

Leaders of attempted coup

The announcement of the attempted military takeover was made via a video message by the spokesman of the group, Amadou Abdramane.

“This is as a result of the continuing degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance," said Abdramane, who was shown in a blue uniform and seated at a table in front of nine other officers in combat uniform.

Little is known about Abdramane except that he is identified as a Colonel Major of the Niger Air Force. In 2021, elements of the Air Force were also accused of being involved in a failed coup just two days after the presidential inauguration of Bazoum.

Several people were arrested following that incident, including the suspected ringleader. Five people were jailed in February for 20 years.

A second bid to oust Bazoum reportedly occurred last March while the president was travelling abroad, according to a Niger official, who said an arrest was made. The authorities have never commented publicly on that incident.

It was not immediately clear if Abdramane had been designated as the leader of the latest mutiny group, which is calling itself the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country.

The group said it remained committed to its engagements with the international and national community, although it also warned against external intervention amid condemnation by the African Union.

In a blow to the democratically-elected government, Niger's armed forces chief General Abdou Sidikou Issa declared on Thursday that he is supporting the coup attempt.

"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, have also reportedly shown their support for the coup leaders, according to AFP news agency.

Earlier on Wednesday, a social media post of Niger’s presidency reported that members of the elite guard unit had engaged in an “anti-Republican demonstration” and unsuccessfully tried to obtain support from other security forces.

It said Bazoum and his family were doing well but that Niger’s army and national guard “are ready to attack” if those involved in the action did not back down.

History of coups

The African Union, regional bloc ECOWAS and the European Union have all condemned the "attempted coup", saying such actions have no place in today’s society.

The European Union said it "associates itself" with the ECOWAS statement and attacked "any attempt to destabilise democracy and threaten the stability" of Niger.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken to Bazoum to offer Washington's support.

The Turkish foreign ministry also issued a statement saying it is following developments in Niger with “deep concern,” with hopes that lawful peace and stability in the country will not suffer.

"We follow with deep concern the coup attempt perpetrated by a group within the Armed Forces in Niger, which led to the removal from duty of President Mohamed Bazoum, who came to power through democratic elections, and the suspension of all democratic institutions," said a Foreign Ministry statement on Thursday.

Türkiye hopes that the constitutional order, social peace and stability of "friendly and brotherly" Niger will not deteriorate, it added.

"Türkiye will continue to stand by Niger throughout this critical period," it said.

Niger has suffered from chronic political volatility since gaining independence from France in 1960.

It has seen four coups in its history, most recently a February 2010 putsch which toppled then-president Mamadou Tandja.

The country's first-ever democratic transition of power took place in 2021, when Bazoum took the presidency after his predecessor, Mahamadou Issoufou, voluntarily stepped down.

Bazoum previously served as interior minister and right-hand man to Issoufou.

One of the poorest nations

Niger, a vast West African country that is two-thirds desert, is one of the world's poorest nations.

Half of its 26.2 million people live in poverty, fuelled in part by the world's highest birth rate of 6.8 children per woman in 2021.

Like other countries on the southern rim of the Sahara, Niger is losing huge swathes of arable land to the encroaching desert, causing repeated droughts that worsen widespread hunger.

It is part of Africa's Great Green Wall project, which aims to create an 8,000-kilometre-long corridor of trees and shrubs across the continent.

Twin insurgencies

Along with Sahel neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger is struggling with an insurgency that began in Mali in 2012 and spread across the region's highly porous borders.

To its southwest, fighters have swept in from Mali in 2015, and the other in the southeast, involving insurgents from northeastern Nigeria.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes, stoking a humanitarian crisis and further straining the economy.

The fighting against both al Qaeda and Daesh-affiliated insurgents has come to within 100 kilometres of the capital.

One of the deadliest attacks left 141 people dead in several hamlets in the vast desert region of Tahoua in March 2021, according to the official toll.

US-backed Niger is an increasingly rare bastion of support for Western anti-terrorism operations in the region.

France has stationed 1,500 counter-terrorism troops in the country after being booted out of Mali and Burkina Faso.

Uranium, gold and other natural resources

Niger has some of the world's biggest deposits of uranium, a key ingredient in the nuclear industry.

France, which gets nearly all its electricity from nuclear plants, began mining uranium in northern Niger half a century ago.

The country has also become a small-scale producer of gold and oil.

Most of the population, however, lives off farming.

Northeast Niger is home to fabled towns of forts of salt and clay perched on rocks above the Sahara.

The origins of the "ksars" of Djado, a series of crenellated walls, watchtowers, passages and wells, remains a mystery.

Niger is seeking UN World Heritage Status for the site.