Niger's President Bazoum has been removed - soldiers
Niger President Mohamed Bazoum has been removed from power, according to a group of soldiers who appeared on the West African nation's national television late on Wednesday (July 27), hours after the president was held in the presidential palace.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Niger's President Mohamed Bouzoum has been removed from power, that's according to a
00:06 group of soldiers who appeared on national TV late Wednesday.
00:10 Bouzoum had been detained for hours by his own guards in the presidential palace.
00:17 An army spokesman, Colonel Amadou Abdouman, declared the West African nation's borders
00:22 were closed, a nationwide curfew was in place and all institutions were suspended.
00:29 Security forces, according to Abdouman, decided to rebel due to the "deteriorating security
00:33 situation and bad governance."
00:38 Supporters of the ousted president, Bouzoum, have been quick to condemn the army's action,
00:43 gathering outside the National Assembly in the capital, Niamey, to call for his release.
00:49 This man says he's here to defend democracy.
00:51 He added Bouzoum was elected for five years and democracy should prevail.
00:57 Niger is a key Western ally in a global fight against insurgencies in the Sahel region.
01:02 The coup now complicates international efforts to fight a jihadist movement that has spread
01:07 from Mali over the past decade.
01:10 Bouzoum's election was the first democratic transition of power in a state that has witnessed
01:15 four military coups since independence from France in 1960.
01:19 The coup has sparked international condemnation with the US calling for Bouzoum's release,
01:24 while the European Union, United Nations, France and others have condemned the uprising.
01:29 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
01:31 I spoke with President Bouzoum earlier this morning and made clear that the United States
01:36 resolutely supports him as the democratically elected president of Niger.
01:41 We call for his immediate release.
01:44 We condemn any effort to seize power by force.
01:48 We're actively engaged with the Niger government but also with partners in the region and around
01:55 the world.
01:56 We'll continue to do so until the situation is resolved appropriately and peacefully.
02:02 This is the seventh coup in the West and Central Africa region since 2020.
02:06 Thank you.
02:08 Thank you.
02:09 Thank you.
02:10 Thank you.
02:11 Thank you.
02:12 Thank you.
02:13 Thank you.
02:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]