NIAMEY, July 28 (Reuters) – Niger’s coup leaders declared General Abdourahamane Tiani the new head of state on Friday, saying they had suspended the constitution and dissolved all previous institutions after ousting President Mohamed Bazoum.
Tiani was the head of the presidential guard, whose soldiers locked Bazoum in his palace on Wednesday and said they had expelled him because of bad governance and worsening security.
The general appeared on state television on Friday with a banner on the screen describing him as the president of a newly formed military council, the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP).
“The president of the CNSP is the head of state. He represents the State of Niger in international relations,” an official said, reading a statement.
The constitution has been suspended and the government dissolved, with the CNSP exercising all legislative and executive power, the statement said.
African countries, Western powers, regional and international organizations have reacted with alarm to the coup in Niger, insisting that Bazoum be released and constitutional order restored.
Before this week’s uprising, he was seen as the West’s most stable ally in a region beleaguered by Islamist insurgents. Several foreign troops are based there, including French and American forces.
Niger is also the world’s seventh-largest producer of uranium, the radioactive metal widely used for nuclear power and in nuclear weapons, as well as for cancer treatment.
Niger borders three countries, Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad, which have also experienced military coups in the last two years.
France said Friday morning that the coup was not “final” and urged those responsible to reinstate Bazoum.
But after days of confusion over who was in charge, Tiani and his camp appeared to have consolidated power when they read a series of decrees on state television.
“CNSP’s action is motivated by the sole desire to preserve our beloved homeland,” Tiani said.
Like the military rulers of Mali and Burkina Faso, he justified the coup by saying the government had failed in its fight against the insurgents. He accused him of not collaborating with the leaders of those states.
Militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have been spreading across the Sahel region of West Africa for years. So far, Niger has held them off better than Mali and Burkina Faso, where the violence has only worsened since military coups.
FOREIGN RESPONSE
Foreign countries have not announced any plans to intervene in Niger, but Tiani warned against any attempt to extract President Bazoum, who has been detained with his family in the presidential palace since Wednesday morning.
He said that a foreign military intervention would result in “the massacre of the population of Niger and chaos.”
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will hold an emergency summit in Nigeria on Sunday to discuss the situation.
Niger will be a test for the regional bloc, which has had trouble convincing soldiers to return power after the latest wave of coups in member states Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.
The European Union and the United States have already threatened to cut support to Niger, which is a major recipient of Western security aid and a key partner of the European Union in stemming irregular migration from sub-Saharan Africa.
“Any break in the constitutional order will have consequences for EU-Niger cooperation, including the immediate suspension of all budget support,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Friday.
US Vice President Kamala Harris said cooperation with the Nigerien government was contingent on its “continued commitment to democratic standards.”
Germany, Italy, France and the United States have troops in niger in military training and counterinsurgency missions.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the situation remained dynamic and the priority was the safety of soldiers on the ground.
“It is not yet clear how the leadership in engagement with Western partners will be positioned in the future,” he told the Spiegel news magazine.
Additional reporting by Bate Felix and Anait Miridzhanian; Written by Nellie Peyton; edited by John Stonestreet, Angus MacSwan and Nick Macfie
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