The President of Angola, João Lourenço, condemned Thursday July 27 in a statement the coup d’Etat in Niger, which he categorizes as “serious” and “against the legitimate Nigerien government”.
“The Government of the Republic of Angola has followed with particular attention and concern the latest events in the Republic of Niger” and “in view of this serious occurrence” expresses “its firm condemnation of the acts carried out in the Republic of Niger by the military, as it is a serious attack on the constitutional order of the country, and as it constitutes an inadmissible violation of the democratic principles on which the legitimacy of the power established in 2021, through free and democratic elections, is based”.
The Nigerien military announced on Wednesday July 26 evening the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum, democratically elected in 2021. The coup military junta presented itself as the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland (CNSP).
Niger’s partners, including the United States, France and the UN, have already condemned the coup.
Mohamed Bazoum was still being held hostage today with his family at his official residence in Niamey, but is in good health, according to people close to him.
In the statement, João Lourenço demands “the immediate release” of Mohamed Bazoum, his family and collaborators, “in the conviction that a climate can thus be created that urgently favors a national understanding and enables the restoration of democratic legitimacy in the country”.
The President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, also condemned “with the utmost severity” the coup d’Etat in Niger. In a message on Twitter, Sisssoco Embaló, currently attending the Russia-Africa summit, called for the restoration of constitutional order in Niger and for “President Bazoum and his family to remain safe”.