Armed troops blockade presidential palace in Niger

Armed troops have blockaded the presidential palace in Niger, one of the world’s most unstable nations where there have been four coups since the country gained independence in 1960.

The soldiers, including members of the presidential guard of Mohamed Bazoum, were said to be engaged in negotiations with the president – who was described as “safe and well” – as the country’s army and national guard threatened to attack the presidential force unless they stepped down.

A source close to Bazoum described the move as a “fit of temper” by the elite troops adding that “talks” were under way after the soldiers blocked access to the palace at about 6.30am on Wednesday.

A Reuters reporter saw military vehicles blocking the entrance to the palace in the capital, Niamey. Access to ministries next to the palace had also been blocked, security sources said.

An official in the presidency said staff inside the palace did not have access to their offices.

A statement issued by the presidency on Twitter suggested that the presidential guard had tried to win over the support of some members of the armed forces in their actions.

Residents in other parts of Niamey described traffic moving freely and no evidence of armed men on the streets.

Lying in the heart of the Sahel, Niger is two-thirds desert and persistently ranks near to or at the bottom of the UN’s Human Development Index, a benchmark of prosperity. It has a growing population of 22.4 million, driven by a birth rate averaging seven children for every woman.

The country is struggling with two jihadist campaigns – one in the south-west, which swept in from neighbouring Mali in 2015, and the other in the south-east, involving jihadists based in north-eastern Nigeria.

Niger’s military has received training and logistical support from the US and France, which have military bases there.

“It’s a fit of temper by the presidential guard but talks are under way with the president,” the source told the AFP news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The president is fine, he’s safe and sound,” the source said. “He and his family are at the residence.”

The reason for the guards’ behaviour and what was being discussed in the talks were not given.

An MP with Bazoum’s PNDS party said: “I spoke to the president and to friends who are ministers (and) they are fine.”

Bazoum, who was democratically elected in 2021, is a close ally of France. The country’s last coup occurred in February 2010, overthrowing the then-president, Mamadou Tandja.

However, there was an attempted coup days before Bazoum’s inauguration in April 2021, according to a security source at the time. Several people were arrested, including the suspected ringleader, an air force captain named Sani Gourouza. He was arrested in neighbouring Benin and handed over to the Niger authorities.

Ousmane Cisse, a former interior minister under a military government of transition that ran from 2010-11, was detained in April 2022 for his suspected role. He was acquitted in February this year, but five others, including Gourouza, were jailed for 20 years.

A second bid to oust Bazoum took place in March this year while the president was in Turkey, according to a Niger official, who said an arrest was made.

The authorities have never commented publicly on the incident.

In January 2018, nine soldiers and a civilian were sentenced by a military court to jail terms ranging from five to 15 years for having attempted to topple Bazoum’s predecessor, Mahamadou Issoufou, in 2015.

Those convicted included General Souleymane Salou, a former army chief of staff and a member of the junta that had forced out Tandja in 2010.