Niger Coup Succeeds, As Soldiers Dissolve Constitution, Shut West African Borders

The coup in Niger has succeeded with soldiers announcing on national TV a dissolution of the constitution, Aljazeera reported.

With this, Niger becomes the sixth country in the West Africa subregion to experience a coup since August 2020.

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Led by Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane, the soldiers announced they had carried out a coup and closed all West African borders.

In a statement broadcast on national television and quoted by Aljazeera, Mr Abdramane said that “the defence and security forces … have decided to put an end to the regime you are familiar with”.

World leaders including Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu have condemned the coup and noted that it will not be tolerated.

The US, France, UN, ECOWAS and African Union also condemned the coup calling for a return to status quo. There have also been protests by citizens of Niger who are against the coup.

On Wednesday, ECOWAS, led by Mr Tinubu, sent the President of Benin, Patrice Talon, to Niger to mediate in the crisis.

Mr Talon had briefly met with Mr Tinubu in Abuja before leaving for Niger.

It was not clear at the time of this report if Mr Talon had met the coup leaders or ousted President Mohammed Bazoum.