Niger’s Presidential Guards on Wednesday sealed off the residence and offices of President Mohamed Bazoum, a source close to Bazoum said, describing the move as a “fit of temper” by the elite troops and that “talks” were underway.
Access was blocked off to Bazoum’s official home and offices in the presidential complex in Niamey, although there was no abnormal military deployment or sounds of gunfire in the area, and traffic was normal, according to local reports.
The landlocked West African state is one of the most unstable nations in the world, experiencing four coups since independence from France in 1960 as well as numerous other attempts on power.
speaking on condition of anonymity, a source said it’s a fit of temper by the Presidential Guard but talks are underway with the president.
The source further confirmed that the president is fine and safe including his family who are at the residence.
The reason for the tension was not given with the details of the talks not known.
Bazoum, who was democratically elected in 2021, is a close ally of France.
The country’s last coup occurred in February 2010, overthrowing then-president Mamadou Tandja.
However, there was an attempted putsch on March 31, 2021, just two days before Bazoum’s inauguration, according to a security source at the time.
Several people were arrested, including the suspected ringleader, an air force captain named Sani Gourouza.
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