The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, denounced this Wednesday the “deplorable conditions” in which the deposed president of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, is being held.
Guterres’ comments come after Bazoum’s party, the Niger Party for Democracy and Socialism, said the military junta had imposed “inhumane” conditions on Bazoum and his family.
“The Secretary General is deeply concerned about the deplorable living conditions in which Bazoum and his family have been living since they were arbitrarily detained by members of the Presidential Guard,” a spokesman for António Guterres said.
“The Secretary General reiterates his concern for the health and safety of the president and his family, and once again calls for his immediate and unconditional release and his reinstatement as head of state,” it added.
Bazoum’s party denounced that the president lives “without electricity, water, food and medicine”, for which he called for “strict compliance with international obligations in the field of human rights in Niger”.
On July 26, a group of soldiers from the Presidential Guard arrested Bazoum, then announced the creation of a military junta, called the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland, and announced the removal of the president, citing security problems in the country. .
The international community expressed its concern for Bazoum and called for the restoration of “constitutional order” after the coup, supporting the position of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which will hold a new extraordinary summit in Abuja today, capital of Nigeria, after he finished his ultimatum to the coup leaders.
ECOWAS had given the coup junta until Sunday to reinstate the deposed president, without ruling out the possibility of armed action to achieve that objective, although at the last meeting it was in favor of promoting diplomacy.
Niger has accumulated five coups, including the one on July 26, since it gained independence from France in 1960, as well as several failed attempts, the last of them in 2021, a few days after the inauguration of the now deposed president.
Source: TSF
