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Military coup ousts Niger leader | Military coup ousts Niger leader |
(1 day 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 televised announcement, a spokesman for the plotters said Niger's constitution had been suspended and all state institutions dissolved. | |
The junta imposed a curfew and closed the country's borders. | |
President Mamadou Tandja, in power for more than a decade in the uranium-rich nation, 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. |
Tensions have been growing in the country since last August, when Mr Tandja changed the constitution to allow him to stay in power beyond his legal term limit. | |
The move provoked a political crisis and threw Niger into isolation - regional grouping Ecowas (Economic Community Of West African States) suspending its membership. | |
Poverty, deception | |
A spokesman for the coup leaders said the country was now being led by a group called the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD). | |
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". | |
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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | Earlier, smoke could be seen from the roof of the office where President Mamadou Tandja was holding his cabinet meeting. |
"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. | |
The BBC's Idy Baraou in Niamey says despite the curfew, people have gone to mosques and shops as normal. | |
He says there is not an obvious military presence on the streets, but heavy artillery has been deployed around the presidential palace. | |
The African Union has condemned the takeover saying coups were contrary to the AU's vision of a continent free of unconstitutional changes of government. | |
But one opposition leader, Mahamadou Karijo, welcomed the coup and praised the soldiers as "honest patriots". | |
"They behave like they say - they are not interested in political leadership, they will fight to save the Nigerien people from any kind of tyranny," he told the BBC's Network Africa. | |
Huge investment | |
Soldiers captured Mr Tandja while he was chairing his weekly cabinet meeting, a government source told the BBC. | Soldiers captured Mr Tandja while he was chairing his weekly cabinet meeting, a government source told the BBC. |
class="" href="/2/hi/africa/8181537.stm">Profile: Mamadou Tandja | |
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. | 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. |
Mr Tandja, a former army officer, was first voted into office in 1999 and was returned to power in an election in 2004. | 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. | 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. | 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, the French energy firm Areva has begun work on the world's second-biggest uranium mine - ploughing an estimated $1.5bn into the project. | |
China National Petroleum Corporation signed a $5bn deal in 2008 to pump oil within three years. | |
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