MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th July, 2023) The Nigerien government is not engaged in direct dialogue with mutineers who are holding the country's president, Mohamed Bazoum, hostage, the foreign minister and interim head of the government said on Thursday.
"There was no direct (contacts), but attempts of mediation were made," Hassoumi Massoudou said in an interview with the France24 tv channel. He also mentioned a Nigerian delegation's participation as mediators, and that negotiations with the military units who orchestrated the coup were still underway.
The minister added that despite the attempted coup there is no "fundamental crisis" in Niger and called for mutineers to return to their direct duties.
On Wednesday, members of the Nigerien military said in a statement broadcast on national television that they had overthrown the president, closed borders and imposed a curfew in the country "until further notice." It came hours after members of the presidential guard detained the president at his residence and sealed off access to offices in the Nigerien capital of Niamey. The president's office said that Niger's army did not support the mutineers.
The alleged reason for the mutiny was Bazoum's intention to dismiss the commander of the presidential guard, Gen. Omar Tchiani, local media reported. According to the media's sources, negotiations were underway to avoid a confrontation between soldiers of the presidential guard and the rest of the military.
Later on Wednesday, President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu said that his Benin counterpart, Patrice Talon, was heading to Niger as a negotiator.
