Niger Republic President, Mohamed Bazoum, is being detained by members of the Presidential Guard.
Disgruntled members of the guard sealed off access to the president’s residence and offices, and after talks broke down “refused to release the president,” the source said, adding: “The army has given them an ultimatum.”
Bazoum was democratically elected in 2021, taking the helm of one of Africa’s poorest and most coup-prone countries.
Reports say the immediate former president, Mohammed Issoufou, and other former presidents are currently involved in talks to stop the situation from escalating.
“The President of the Republic and his family are doing well. The Army and the National Guard are ready to attack” those involved in this incident, the president’s office added.
The landlocked West African state is one of the most coup-prone nations in the world, experiencing four since independence from France in 1960, as well as numerous attempted coups.
President Bazoum, who was democratically elected in 2021, is a close ally of France.
The country’s last coup occurred in February 2010, overturning then President Mamadou Tandja.
Niger is grappling 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.
Militant groups allied to both al-Qaeda and Islamic State are active in the country.
Two neighbouring countries, Mali and Burkina Faso, have experienced coups recently triggered by jihadist uprisings.
