Niamey [Niger], July 28 : Following the military coup that sparked international condemnation, Abdourahamane Tiani, a Niger general, declared himself as the country’s new leader, by appearing on national television, CNN reported on Friday.
Tiani appeared on Tele Sahel with a banner identifying him as “President of the national council for the Preservation of the Homeland.”
The appearance comes a day after the West African country’s military endorsed the leaders behind the toppling of President Mohamed Bazoum’s government.
Despite the move, an official loyal to the deposed president said there was infighting among the plotters while France has said the coup is “not final”.
Tiani said in the broadcast that Wednesday’s coup was motivated by both the desire to “preserve our homeland” in a context of a “deteriorating security situation,” and poor economic and social governance, CNN reported.
Niger’s former government, he said, did not give Nigeriens “a glimpse of a real way out of the (security) crisis”.
Earlier on Thursday, the Nigerien army command said it was supporting the seizure in a bid to thwart bloodshed. The military’s statement also warned against foreign military intervention, which it said “risks having disastrous and uncontrolled consequences”, CNN reported.
Bazoum was reportedly detained two days ago by members of his own presidential guard. Tiani has led the body since his appointment by former President Mahamadou Issoufou.
The coup has drawn sharp criticism at the international level.
France’s foreign minister Catherine Colonna said on Friday that the coup was “not final” and there was “still a way out” of the current crisis for coup leaders if they “listen to the international community”.
The European Union described the situation in Niger as a “serious attack on stability and democracy,” before warning that aid to the country could be suspended following the coup.
Niger’s coup plotters have however, ignored international calls to reinstate Bazoum, with the so-called National Council for the Preservation of the Homeland warning of “consequences” to any foreign military intervention in a separate televised statement on Friday, CNN reported.
Meanwhile, the president’s whereabouts remain unknown, though Macron is one of several global leaders who have said they’ve been in contact with him since he was taken into custody.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield spoke with Bazoum “to express her strong support for the democratically-elected leader,” the spokesperson for the US Mission to the United Nations said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said he had spoken with Bazoum “to convey to him all our solidarity.”
Bazoum took office in 2021 in the country’s first democratic transfer of power was following years of military coups. Niger has experienced four takeovers since its independence from France in 1960, CNN reported.
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