Friday, February 19, 2010

CSRD coup ousts Niger President Mamadou Tandja

A newsreader on Niger television said the country's borders had been closed and a curfew was now in force. The 'patriotic' military announcement was made on TV. See video clip in the following report.

Military coup ousts Niger president
From BBC News online at 23:34 GMT, Thursday, 18 February 2010:
A coup has taken place in Niger and the president has been captured after a gun battle in the capital, Niamey.

In a television announcement, a spokesman for the plotters said Niger's constitution had been suspended and all state institutions dissolved.

The country was now being led by a group called the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD), the spokesman said.

President Mamadou Tandja is believed to be in captivity at a military barracks.

Reports say government ministers are also being held.

Making the announcement on television, the spokesman for the coup leaders, wearing a military uniform, was surrounded by a large group of soldiers.

He called on the people of Niger to "remain calm and stay united around the ideals postulated by the CSRD", to "make Niger an example of democracy and good governance".

"We call on national and international opinions to support us in our patriotic action to save Niger and its population from poverty, deception and corruption," he added.

A newsreader on Niger television said the country's borders had been closed and a curfew was now in force.

Tensions have been growing since last year in the uranium-rich nation.

Mr Tandja was widely criticised when he changed the constitution in August to allow him to stand for a third term.

Long-term tensions

A BBC correspondent said earlier that tanks were firing and witnesses reported seeing injured people being taken to hospital.

The exchange of gunfire has been between soldiers but it is confusing and one cannot tell one side from another. I saw tanks being fired and soldiers on the streets using machine guns.

The area near the presidential palace is where the business of government takes place and at least four military barracks are based there.

People have fled the area and some civil servants have locked themselves inside their offices.

Earlier, smoke could be seen from the roof of the office where President Mamadou Tandja was holding his cabinet meeting.
An unnamed French official told AFP that the president had been seized.

"All I can say is that it would appear that Tandja is not in a good position," he told the news agency on condition of anonymity.

Soldiers captured Mr Tandja while he was chairing his weekly cabinet meeting, a government source told the BBC.

AFP later reported an official as saying Mr Tandja was possibly being held at a military barracks about 20km (13 miles) west of Niamey.

A witness told the news agency that the bodies of three soldiers had been taken to a military mortuary.

The situation in Niamey remains unclear - there has apparently been no large-scale deployment of military personnel.

The government and opposition have been holding on-off talks since December - mediated by the regional body Ecowas - to try to resolve the country's political crisis.

Constructive engagement

Ecowas has told the BBC that it is closely following developments in Niger.

The organisation's political director, Abdel-Fatau Musah, said that, if needed, Ecowas would be in the country as quickly as it could to ensure order was maintained and constitutional order restored as soon as possible.

Mr Musah said that while Ecowas would never recognise a military takeover, it would maintain a constructive engagement with those in authority in Niger.

Mr Tandja, a former army officer, was first voted into office in 1999 and was returned to power in an election in 2004.

Niger has experienced long periods of military rule since independence from France in 1960.

It is one of the world's poorest countries, but Mr Tandja's supporters argue that his decade in power has brought a measure of economic stability.

Under his tenure, work has begun on the world's second-biggest uranium mine, and energy deals have been signed with Chinese firms
AT THE SCENE:
Idy Baraou
BBC News, Niamey
The exchange of gunfire has been between soldiers but it is confusing and one cannot tell one side from another. I saw tanks being fired and soldiers on the streets using machine guns.

The area near the presidential palace is where the business of government takes place and at least four military barracks are based there.

People have fled the area and some civil servants have locked themselves inside their offices.

Earlier, smoke could be seen from the roof of the office where President Mamadou Tandja was holding his cabinet meeting.
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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Coup attempt launched in Niger

Elite guards are fighting to put down a suspected coup attempt against President Mamadou Tandja in the uranium-rich African country Niger.

Niger produces close to eight percent of the world's uranium, traditionally in partnership with French and Canadian mining firms.

In the last two years, it has signed deals with two Chinese state owned companies to extract uranium and pump oil from new wells. One of the Chinese deals, agreed in June 2008, is worth £3 billion.

Niger, where the main religion is Islam, is one of the countries in the region where Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - the network's North African affiliate - has become active. Read full story here below.

Coup attempt launched in Niger

Niger's President Mamadou Tandja Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Coup attempt launched in Niger
From The Daily Telegraph by Mike Pflanz, West Africa Correspondent
Published: 2:36PM GMT UK Thursday, 18 February 2010:
The sounds of machine-gun fire and heavy weapons were heard from the government district of the capital Niamey, and smoke was rising from the presidential palace.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the apparent attempt to oust President Tandja, who changed his country's constitution in August to allow him to stay in power.

"We heard automatic gunfire and then large detonations. The house was shaking. It lasted about a half hour, non-stop," Claire Deschamps, a French national living in Niamey, told the AFP news agency.

Soldiers were blocking the road near to the prime minister's office, and all other streets nearby were said to be deserted, with shops shuttered.

The president was not thought to have been injured during the first bout of sustained gunfire.

A member of his personal staff at the presidential palace told the Reuters news agency that "for now everything is alright".

But tensions have been rising in the vast West African country on the southern fringes of the Sahara, since the constitutional amendment two months ago.

Mr Tandja forced the change through by claiming that "his people" wanted him to stay past his prescribed two term limit in order to "finish the work I have started".

At the same time, he dissolved parliament and awarded himself extra powers, moves which drew international criticism and sanctions from neighbouring states.

Mr Tandja won elections in 1999 and 2004 that were widely seen as free and fair.

Niger produces close to eight percent of the world's uranium, traditionally in partnership with French and Canadian mining firms.

In the last two years, it has signed deals with two Chinese state owned companies to extract uranium and pump oil from new wells. One of the Chinese deals, agreed in June 2008, is worth £3 billion.

Niger, where the main religion is Islam, is one of the countries in the region where Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - the network's North African affiliate - has become active.
Also, read IRIN news report, Thursday, 18 February 2010 re NIGER: Constitution crisis turned coup.

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Coup attempt underway in Niger

Snapshot of Google's newsreel on Thursday, 18 February 2010; at 17:18 pm GMT UK:

Gunfire reported near Niger's presidential palace

Xinhua - Fang Yang - ‎8 minutes ago‎
18 (Xinhua) -- Explosions and bursts of gunfire were reported in Niger's capital Niamey, which was by some termed as a coup attempt, the agencies reported ...

Armed soldiers storm Niger presidential palace

The Associated Press - ‎16 minutes ago‎
NIAMEY, Niger — Armed soldiers stormed the presidential palace Thursday afternoon and witnesses said the president was missing after heavy gunfire in the ...

Coup bid underway in Niger

euronews - ‎29 minutes ago‎
A coup attempt is said to be underway in Niger after automatic weapons fire was reported coming from the presidential palace in the capital Niamey. ...

West Africa Gunfire Around Niger's Presidential Palace

Voice of America - Scott Stearns - ‎34 minutes ago‎
Thousands of people march in Niamey to back Niger's President Mamadou Tandja, who has obtained an extension of his mandate in defiance of his foes and by ...

Coup attempt ongoing in Niger

afrol News - ‎40 minutes ago‎
Currently, the Niger coup-makers seem to be in control of Niamey. However, the presidential guard is still loyal to the government. Gun fighting is reported ...

Bangladesh government accused of crackdown on Burmese refugees

Open Democracy - Josephine Whitaker - ‎51 minutes ago‎
Rumours of a coup attempt in Niger. All this and much more in today's briefing. Two separate reports this week have raised fresh concerns about the ...

Armed soldiers storm Niger presidential palace

The Associated Press - ‎55 minutes ago‎
NIAMEY, Niger — Witnesses say armed soldiers have stormed the presidential palace with guns blazing and left with the president, whose whereabouts are ...

Niger coup: "Tandja is not in a good position"

Afrik.com - ‎59 minutes ago‎
Niamey, the capital of Niger has been hit by a coup d'état. The President Mamadou Tandja and his Cabinet Ministers who were holding an extraordinary meeting ...

Reports: Gunfire breaks out in apparent Niger coup bid - Update

Earthtimes (press release) - ‎1 hour ago‎
By : dpa Nairobi/Niamey, Niger - Gunfire has broken out in the Nigerien capital Niamey in an apparent coup attempt, reports said Thursday. ...

Nigerien Streets Near Presidency Empty After Gunfire

BusinessWeek - Djibril Saidou, Franz Wild - ‎1 hour ago‎
A coup attempt against President Mamadou Tandja is underway, Agence-France Presse reported, citing an unidentified French official.

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