Niger's president vows democracy will prevail after mutinous soldiers detain him and declare a coup
Niger's president defiantly declared Thursday that democracy would prevail, a day after mutinous soldiers detained him and announced they had seized power in a coup over the West African country’s deteriorating security situation.
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00:00 Several hundred people gathered in the capital of Niger in support of a military coup.
00:08 The group of soldiers announced on Wednesday that they'd seized power because of the West
00:11 African country's deteriorating security situation.
00:15 Some of the supporters waved Russian flags, echoing similar demonstrations held after
00:19 coups in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.
00:22 The country had been seen as the last major partner standing against extremism in a Francophone
00:27 region where anti-French sentiment had opened the way for the Russian private military group
00:31 Wagner.
00:32 A spokesman for the European Council President Charles Michel said the EU is demanding the
00:37 immediate release of President Mohamed Barzoum and his family after elite troops detained
00:42 him in his compound.
00:45 He reiterated EU's full support and our conviction that Niger is an essential part of the European
00:52 Union in the Sahel, partner of the EU, whose destabilization would not serve the interest
01:00 of anyone in the country, the region or beyond.
01:04 The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has also appealed for the release
01:08 of the president.
01:09 The UN chief said Barzoum had told him he was well, but the situation was very serious.
01:14 It's still not very clear how much support the coup leaders have.
01:17 [WHOOSH]