UNITED NATIONS, Jul 27 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Thursday demanded the release of Niger\u2019s President Mohamed Bazoum \u201cimmediately and unconditionally\u201d, as military officers continue to hold the democratically-elected leader captive after declaring a coup.<\/p>\n
A group of officers from all branches of the military made the television announcement late on Wednesday after members of the president\u2019s own guard detained him inside his offices in the capital Niamey.<\/p>\n
According to news reports, the attempted coup does not have the backing of the entire military, but the head of the army has announced that he supports the move.<\/p>\n
Addressing reporters at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday, the UN chief once again strongly condemned the attempted military takeover and the \u201cassault against the democratically-elected government\u201d.<\/p>\n
President Bazoum issued a defiant tweet of his own on Thursday, saying that \u201cthe hard-won achievements will be safeguarded. All Nigeriens who love democracy and freedom will see to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guterres said he had spoken to the president on Wednesday to express the UN\u2019s full solidarity.<\/p>\n
Addressing the coup plotters in Niger directly to camera, the UN chief demanded they stop obstructing democratic governance, and respect the rule of law.<\/p>\n
After coups in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso in recent years, provoked by the rise of Islamist groups across the entire Sahel region, the Secretary-General noted that the events in Niamey were part of \u201ca disturbing trend\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSuccessive unconstitutional changes of government are having terrible effects on the development and lives of civilian populations. This is particularly glaring in countries already affected by conflict, violent extremism and terrorism, as well as the devastating effects of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n
The UN\u2019s human rights chief Volker Turk said in a tweet that he was \u201cshocked and distressed\u201d by the coup attempt, adding that every step must be taken to restore constitutional order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 27 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Thursday demanded the release of Niger\u2019s President Mohamed Bazoum \u201cimmediately and unconditionally\u201d, as military officers continue to hold the democratically-elected leader captive after declaring a coup. A group of officers from all branches of the military made the television announcement late on Wednesday after members of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-346033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n