Niger military council takes over, U.S. says room for diplomacy remains
By Moussa Aksar and Boureima Balima
NIAMEY (Reuters) -Leaders of a coup in Niger declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as the new head of state on Friday days after saying they had ousted President Mohamed Bazoum in the seventh military takeover in West and Central Africa in less than three years.
African countries, Western powers and regional and international organizations have voiced support for Bazoum and called for democracy to be restored. Some officials suggested the outcome was not yet final.
France's Foreign Minister Catherina Colonna explicitly referred to it as an «attempted coup» on Friday, while White House national security spokesman John Kirby (NYSE:KEX) said there was still room for intra-African diplomacy.
The upheaval has raised concerns about the security of a region where Niger has been a key ally of Western powers seeking to contain insurgencies by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
«A military takeover may cause the United States to cease security and other cooperation with the government of Niger,» Kirby told a briefing.
Tiani was the head of the presidential guard whose soldiers shut Bazoum inside his palace on Wednesday, causing confusion over who was in control.
Bazoum has not made a statement since Thursday morning, when he vowed to protect «hard-won» democratic gains in a post on social media.
Several world leaders said they have spoken to him since the coup, and that he is still detained in the palace with his family but «fine».
Former colonial power France said it still recognised Bazoum as the legitimate leader.
The general appeared on state television on Friday with a banner on the screen that described him as the president of a newly formed military body, the National Council
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