Niger's junta said on Thursday that it had thwarted an escape attempt by ousted President Bazoum. Bazoum denies the claim. He has been imprisoned by the military since the 26 July coup despite international calls for his release.
The interim authorities said that Mohamed Bazoum and his family, with the help of accomplices in the security forces, planned to drive a vehicle to the outskirts of the capital Niamey on Thursday and to catch a helicopter to neighbouring Nigeria, according to Reuters.
"The strong reaction of the defence and security forces made it possible to foil this plan to destabilise our country," the regime's spokesman Amadou Abdramane said on state television late on Thursday.
The escape bid failed and "the main actors and some of the accomplices" were arrested.
The junta denounced Bazoum's "irresponsible attitude" and said an investigation had been launched.
In a statement Niger’s junta says deposed president Bazoum, his family and cook tried to escape detention but failed. Statement says mercenaries were involved in the failed plot pic.twitter.com/5RLgcZuHPI
— Nicolas Haque (@nicolashaque) October 19, 2023
Bazoum's version
But the president's camp denies this version of the events.
Earlier on Thursday, RFI managed to speak over the phone with people close to Mohamed Bazoum who explained that the ex-president had been separated from his wife and son in the middle of the night and that their phones were confiscated.
Two of their former bodyguards were also arrested immediately, according to the source.
During one of these operations, shots were fired.
That day, the family was expected a decision on the release of the ex-president's son, Salem Bazoum.
Three months under arrest
Abdramane did not say where Bazoum's family were being held now.
Since he was toppled by the military on 26 July, the former president has refused to resign, and had until now, been held at his residence in the presidential palace along with his wife Haziza and his son Salem.
Bazoum's party and family members say he has had no access to running water, electricity or fresh goods, prompting condemnation from former western allies.
The army officers who overthrew Bazoum cited as justification the deteriorating security situation in the country because of jihadist attacks.
In September, Bazoum's lawyers said he filed a legal case with a court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against those who deposed him.
They also said they were taking his case to the UN Human Rights Council.
Regional and international impact
France has supported ousted President Bazoum since the coup and called for his release, as are several other countries and organisations.
But the military regime remains inflexible for now.
This month, the French military present in the country also began their withdrawal, ordered out of Niger by its post-coup military rulers.
On Thursday, the first group of French soldiers, arrived by road in N'Djamena, the capital of neighbouring Chad.
The troops will depart by air from Chad to France, with the pullout expected to be completed by the end of December.
Niger's coup is one of five that have swept West Africa's central Sahel region in three years, leaving a vast band of arid terrain south of the Sahara Desert under the control of military rulers.
Niger is battling two jihadist insurgencies: a spillover in its southeast from a long-running conflict in neighbouring Nigeria; and an offensive in the west by militants crossing from Mali and Burkina Faso.
(with newswires)
