'Coup attempt' underway in troubled Niger as president held by guards

Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum has reportedly been seized by members of the presidential guard, triggering warnings from regional powers that a coup is underway.

Media reports said the presidential guards were holding Bazoum inside the palace, which has been blocked off by military vehicles since Wednesday morning.

The report said that the city’s center and the roads surrounding the Presidential Palace had been blocked, adding that the country’s military appeared to have taken control of state TV.

Video footage from the capital Niamey shows the rest of the city appearing calm.

In a statement on Wednesday, the presidential office called the movement unsuccessful, adding President Bazoum and his family are safe and sound.

“The President of the Republic and his family are doing well. The Army and the National Guard are ready to attack the elements of the GP [Presidential Guard] involved in this fit of anger if they do not return to their better senses,” the presidency said on social media. 

 A source close to the president later said that the country’s Presidential Guard and government authorities are currently in negotiation.

The United Nations “stands by the Government and the people of Niger,” a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday.

“The Secretary-General is following closely the situation in Niger. He condemns in the strongest terms any effort to seize power by force and to undermine democratic governance, peace, and stability in Niger,” Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement.

The African Union also condemned what it called a coup attempt and urged the "felon" soldiers involved to return to barracks immediately.

MG