The African Union has demanded the military in Niger “return to their barracks and restore constitutional authority” within 15 days after grabbing power in a coup.
The AU’’s Peace and Security Council “demands the military personnel to immediately and unconditionally return to their barracks and restore constitutional authority, within a maximum period of fifteen (15) days,” it said in a communiqué following a meeting Friday on the Niger coup, reports Al-Arabia News.
Earlier General Abdourahamane Tchiani was believed to be the new leader of Niger following a military takeover, according to Niger state television Friday.
The chief of the Presidential Guard has been named “president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland,” a statement said, with elected President Mohamed Bazoum detained by army putschists since Wednesday morning.
Tchiani, appeared on state television on Friday to defend this week’s coup, repeating that soldiers had acted to protect national security.
Security has remained a problem since Bazoum was elected in 2021 as extremists who took root in neighboring Mali in 2012 gained ground, killing thousands and displacing over six million across West Africa’s Sahel region.
Niger is a key ally of Western countries in tackling extremist insurgencies