Days after overthrowing Niger’s elected President Mohamed Bazoum and confining him, the group behind the designated an army general as a new leader of the country Friday, as people came out to protest against the toppling of the people’s representative.
France — the country’s former coloniser — earlier urged the group to let Mohamed Bazoum work as the President of the country and pay heed to international calls.
However, General Abdourahamane Tchiani — who has been heading the Presidential Guard since 2011 — read a statement on national TV as the "president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland".
The general presented the coup as a response to "the degradation of the security situation" linked to bloodshed conducted by the terrorists.
French President Emmanuel Macron described the events in Niger’s capital Niamey as a coup affecting the wider region as Western powers scramble to preserve a key ally in the insurgent-stricken region.
"This coup is completely illegitimate and profoundly dangerous, for Nigeriens, for Niger, and for the whole region," Macron said, calling for Bazoum’s release.
General Tchiani said that while Bazoum had sought to convince people that "all is going well... the harsh reality (is) a pile of dead, displaced, humiliation and frustration".
"The security approach today has not brought security to the country despite heavy sacrifices," he said.
Bazoum and his family have been confined since Wednesday morning to their residence at the presidential palace located within the Guard’s military camp.
He is said to be “in good health” and has been able to “talk by telephone to other heads of state including Macron.”
The Guard’s chiefs staged the coup and Thursday they won the support of the country’s army.
Chief of the armed forces General Abdou Sidikou Issa swung threw his support behind the putschists saying it was "in order to avoid a deadly confrontation".
The latest target of a coup in Africa’s turbulent Sahel, Bazoum has tried to stand his ground as condemnations swelled from African and international organisations, allies Germany and the US, as well as France.
"The hard-won [democratic] gains will be safeguarded," Bazoum said on Twitter.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna had held out hope for Bazoum’s position.
"If you hear me talking about an attempted coup, it’s because we don’t consider things final," she said. "There is still a way out if those responsible listen to the international community."
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would hold a summit "probably on Sunday", where "possible sanctions could be decided", Colonna said.
France, which has 1,500 soldiers in Niger, would back the trade bars.
ECOWAS has demanded Bazoum’s "immediate release", saying he "remains the legitimate and legal President of Niger".