Thibaud Hue, edited by Gauthier Delomez / Photo credits: Issouf SANOGO / AFP
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7:06 p.m., August 11, 2023
More than two weeks after the coup in Niger, deposed President Mohamed Bazoum is still being held prisoner by the putschists in his residence. According to the European Union, he would be locked up with his wife and son and deprived of food, electricity and care for several days.
Concerns are growing about the conditions of detention of Mohamed Bazoum. The President of Niger, deposed by a coup d’etat at the end of July, would be locked up in his residence with his wife and son, deprived of food, electricity and care for several days according to the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrel. “Very difficult conditions”, also confirms one of Mohamed Bazoum’s relatives.
The putschists even threatened to attack him in the event of a military intervention. A very unlikely scenario, however, according to Jérôme Pigné, specialist in the Sahel. “It must be put into context that General Tiani, in command of the presidential guard, is turning against his own leaders”, he recalls at the microphone of Europe 1.
Kill Bazoum, a “suicide” for Tiani
In reality, General Abdourahamane Tiani “does not enjoy substantial support from the various armed forces”, emphasizes Jérôme Pigné. “And so, if he decided to come out of the camp where he is entrenched, he would probably risk his life.”
The Sahel specialist also wants to be reassuring about the ousted president’s chances of survival. “When Tiani says he is going to kill President Bazoum if there is an intervention, it is quite the opposite that will happen because if he kills him, he is killing himself. , it’s a suicide.”
For its part, ECOWAS does not give in to pressure and continues to organize a vast armed operation. Although there is no timetable for intervention or details on the state of the forces on standby, there remains a firm desire to restore order as quickly as possible. Late Friday afternoon, thousands of supporters of the military regime gathered near the French base in Niamey the day after an ECOWAS summit that gave the green light to a possible military intervention.