First image of Niger’s ousted president appears online

The first image of Niger’s ousted president has been published online after an attempted coup, showing the leader smiling broadly and appearing to be in good health during a meeting with the president of neighbouring Chad.

Mahamat Idriss Déby, the president of Chad, travelled to Niger as a diplomatic envoy to speak to the country’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum – who is believed to be being held at the presidential residence – and the coup leaders.

Déby posted the photo on his Facebook page late on Sunday, saying he made the trip to Niger, “which is going through a major political crisis … to explore all the paths to find a peaceful exit to the crisis shaking this neighbouring country”.

He also posted a photo of himself with the coup leader, Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani, the head of Niger’s presidential guard, who is also smiling and wearing military fatigues.

Soldiers say they have removed the president from office but an intense power struggle is continuing. Neighbouring countries and international partners have refused to recognise the new leadership and demanded that Bazoum be reinstated.

Bazoum has not been harmed and has continued to talk by phone to foreign governments.

Landlocked Niger, a former French colony, has become a pivotal ally for western powers seeking help to fight the insurgencies. Bazoum’s election in 2021 was the first democratic transition of power in a state that has witnessed four military coups since independence from France in 1960.