Niger Coup

Niger’s president Mamadou Tandja has been captured and pushed out of office following a military coup and violent 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. 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. 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).”