Military Officers Say They Removed Niger’s President

NAIROBI, Kenya—A group of military officers in the West African country of Niger claimed that they had overthrown the elected president, shaking one of the most-reliable U.S. allies in the fight against al Qaeda, Islamic State and Boko Haram.

Speaking on state television late Wednesday, a Nigerien officer said a group called the National Council for the Salvation of the Fatherland had seized power and removed Niger President Mohamed Bazoum.

“We, the defense and security forces…have decided to put an end to the regime that you know,” said the coup’s spokesman, Col. Amadou Abdramane. The spokesman, flanked by nine other officers, cited what he said was Niger’s deteriorating security situation. He said the country’s borders had been sealed and a curfew put in place, while pledging to respect human rights.

The rebellion against Bazoum, who was elected in 2021, is the latest turbulence to hit West Africa and especially the Sahel, the semiarid band just south of the Sahara where Islamist terrorists have killed thousands of civilians in recent years.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea have all had elected governments removed by military officers since 2020. The coups forced an end to American military training in all three countries due to legal restrictions on U.S. military assistance.

Mali and Burkina Faso, which border Niger, have since developed closer ties with Moscow. Mali hired mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group in 2021 and Burkina Faso earlier this year kicked out French troops that had supported its fight against encroaching violent Islamist groups.

The claim on Niger state television by coup leaders suggests a rebellion that started in the early hours of Wednesday has gained significant traction. Disgruntled presidential guards had rebelled earlier against Bazoum and encircled his residence, according to a person close to the president. “It was an expression of discontent that escalated into a coup attempt,” the person said.

In a message posted on social-media platform X (formerly Twitter) Thursday morning, Bazoum said “the hard-won gains [of democracy] will be safeguarded.” In a separate post, Hassoumi Massoudou, Bazoum’s foreign minister, who is traveling abroad, said he was now the government’s interim chief, saying, “a coup attempt has been under way in Niger” by “factional officers.”

Army units loyal to the president were negotiating with the coup plotters outside of Bazoum’s home, pressing them to surrender their weapons, the person close to the president said. The president’s office issued a tweet saying the army and national guard were “ready to attack the elements of the presidential guard” if they didn’t back down.

The U.S. operates a drone base in the Nigerien town of Agadez to help stem the spread of Islamist militants in the Sahel. U.S. commandos train Nigerien special forces at outposts around the country. American troops used to accompany their local counterparts on combat missions until an Islamic State ambush killed four U.S. soldiers in 2017. Now the Americans advise Nigerien commandos from afar during operations.

The armed revolt against Bazoum drew immediate international condemnation.

“The United States strongly condemns any effort to seize power by force and disrupt the constitutional order in Niger,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield

“We call for the immediate release of President Mohamed Bazoum. And we call for respect for the rule of law and public safety, ” she said in a tweet Wednesday night.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. was gravely concerned with developments in Niger following a call he held with Bazoum.

“We are very closely monitoring the situation and developments in Niger,” he told reporters in Wellington, New Zealand, on Thursday local time. “We condemn any efforts to seize power by force. We’re actively engaged with the Nigerien government, but also with partners in the region and around the world and will continue to do so until the situation is resolved appropriately and peacefully.”

Blinken said the U.S. Embassy was in the process of accounting for its personnel and family members to prepare for a potential deterioration of the situation. He said that the U.S. security partnership with Niger hinges on the outcome of this situation.

The chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, accused the plotters of a “total betrayal of their republican duty.”

The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States issued a statement saying its executive commission “condemns in the strongest terms the attempt to seize power by force and calls on the coup plotters to free the democratically-elected President of the Republic immediately and without any condition.”

Niger’s ambassador in Washington, Kiari Liman-Tinguiri, labeled the uprising an “attempt to undermine the functioning of our democracy.” He added in a tweet: “No compromise with the crooked officers of the presidential guard.”

—William Mauldin and Vivian Salama contributed to this article.

Write to Michael M. Phillips at [email protected] and Benoit Faucon at [email protected]