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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Military coup ousts Niger leader | Military coup ousts Niger leader |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A coup has taken place in Niger and the president has been captured after a gun battle in the capital, Niamey. | 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. | 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. | 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. | President Mamadou Tandja is believed to be in captivity at a military barracks. |
| Reports say government ministers are also being held. | 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. | 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". | 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. | 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. | |
| AT THE SCENE Idy BaraouBBC 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. | |
| 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 |