Niger's putschists named an army general as the new leader of the unstable jihadist-hit nation on Friday, the third day since elected President Mohamed Bazoum was detained.
Former colonial master France said hours earlier that it did not consider the coup"final", adding there was time for plotters to heed international calls to leave democratically-elected Bazoum in office.
French President Emmanuel Macron described the events in Niamey as a coup affecting the wider Sahel region as Western powers scramble to preserve a key ally in the insurgent-stricken region."This coup is completely illegitimate and profoundly dangerous, for Nigeriens, for Niger and for the whole region," Macron said, calling for Bazoum's release.
Bazoum and his family have been confined since Wednesday morning to their residence at the presidential palace located within the Guard's military camp.He is said to be in good health and has been able to talk by telephone to other heads of state including Macron.Armed forces chief General Abdou Sidikou Issa swung his weight behind the putschists saying it was"in order to avoid a deadly confrontation".
The Economic Community of West African States would hold a summit"probably on Sunday", where"possible sanctions could be decided", Colonna said. The 63-year-old is one of a dwindling group of elected presidents and pro-Western leaders in the Sahel, where a jihadist insurgency has triggered coups in Mali and Burkina Faso.
The coup plotters had on Thursday urged"the population to remain calm", after young men ransacked Bazoum's PNDS party headquarters, setting fire to vehicles.Some held Russian flags and chanted anti-French and pro-Moscow slogans.
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