Latest news with #MohamedBazoum
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nigeria, Niger foreign ministers meet for security talks
The foreign ministers of Nigeria and Niger held talks Wednesday on cross-border security, terrorism and economic cooperation, despite tensions between the two neighbours since the July 2023 coup in Niger. It comes after Nigeria this month renewed calls for the release of Niger's deposed president Mohamed Bazoum, who is being held at the presidential palace in Niamey in strict detention. Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar travelled to Niamey for talks with Niger's Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangare, in only the second visit by a senior Nigerian official since the coup, following that of General Christopher Musa, Nigeria's defence chief, in August. "The discussions took place in a climate of great cordiality and provided an opportunity to examine in depth the challenges facing the two countries," said a joint statement by the two ministers. The talks focused on the terror threat along their borders, "which constitutes a real obstacle to the effective implementation of all development programmes", the statement said. On economic cooperation, the ministers discussed the railway project linking the Nigerian cities of Kano and Katsina to Maradi in Niger, which is due to open in 2026. They also discussed construction of the Trans-Sahara Highway, and the planned Trans-Saharan gas pipeline, as well as customs and taxation. Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali quit the Economic Community of West African States at the beginning of the year, accusing the ECOWAS bloc of failing in the fight against jihadism. All three countries are led by juntas and are facing deadly jihadist attacks. They formed their own Alliance of Sahel States, pivoting away from former colonial power France and towards Russia. str/ks/roc/rjm/tc
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A Swiss woman has been kidnapped in Niger's Agadez, authorities say
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A Swiss citizen has been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in Niger's city of Agadez, according to local authorities and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. This is the second citizen of a Western country to be kidnapped in Agadez this year. The woman was taken from her home in the Dagamanet neighborhood late Sunday, according to a statement by the governor of Agadez, Brig. Gen. Ibra Boulama Issa, who chaired an emergency meeting Monday on the case. The Swiss foreign affairs department said on X it had been informed of "the kidnapping of a Swiss citizen in Niger' and said investigations were under way. According to local media outlet Air Info, the Swiss national has lived in Agadez for several years with her Nigerian husband. No armed group has claimed responsibility for the abduction. Niger has long has faced attacks from armed groups including jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization. In January, an Austrian woman living in Niger was abducted by unidentified men and has not been found. Niger is ruled by a military junta that took power in 2023 after deposing the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. The new authorities ousted Western partners including the United States, which had soldiers in Niger, and forged a new security and diplomatic alliance with Russia.
Associated Press
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
A Swiss woman has been kidnapped in Niger's Agadez, authorities say
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A Swiss citizen has been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in Niger's city of Agadez, according to local authorities and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. This is the second citizen of a Western country to be kidnapped in Agadez this year. The woman was taken from her home in the Dagamanet neighborhood late Sunday, according to a statement by the governor of Agadez, Brig. Gen. Ibra Boulama Issa, who chaired an emergency meeting Monday on the case. The Swiss foreign affairs department said on X it had been informed of 'the kidnapping of a Swiss citizen in Niger' and said investigations were under way. According to local media outlet Air Info, the Swiss national has lived in Agadez for several years with her Nigerian husband. No armed group has claimed responsibility for the abduction. Niger has long has faced attacks from armed groups including jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization. In January, an Austrian woman living in Niger was abducted by unidentified men and has not been found. Niger is ruled by a military junta that took power in 2023 after deposing the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. The new authorities ousted Western partners including the United States, which had soldiers in Niger, and forged a new security and diplomatic alliance with Russia.
Russia Today
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Niger drops French as official language
Niger's transitional government has declared Hausa the national language, demoting French to a 'working language'. The move is set out in a new charter recently adopted by the West African nation. Although Hausa is the most widely spoken language in Niger, French had been the official language since the country's independence from France in 1960. The new leadership in Niamey – which took power following a coup that deposed civilian President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023 – has sought to cut ties with Paris. Late last month, the Sahel state adopted the Charter of Refoundation, which the government says will be executed as state law. The country's November 2010 Constitution was suspended after the July 26 coup. 'The national language is Hausa… and the working languages are English and French,' Article 12 of the charter reads, published in Niger's official journal, AFP reported on Tuesday. READ MORE: African state quits French union According to the document, nine other languages, including Zarma-Songhay, Fulfulde (Peul), Kanuri, Gourmantche, and Arabic, have been designated 'spoken languages' of Niger. The transition charter, which first emerged from a national conference held in February, also extended the term of Niger's interim president, Abdourahamane Tchiani, for five years. READ MORE: Adieu: Africa's military breakup with France is official Niger and its allies Burkina Faso and Mali withdrew from the global French-speaking group, the International Organization of Francophone Nations (OIF), in March. The three countries – founders of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) – accused the OIF of deviating from its mission of promoting cultural and technical cooperation and becoming a biased tool for political manipulation. The AES also criticized the Paris-based organization for disregarding the sovereignty of its countries through the selective application of sanctions. The group suspended Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger following military coups in the three former French colonies, which were among the first members of the OIF when it was founded in Niamey on March 20, 1970. Relations between Bamako, Niamey, and Ouagadougou and Paris have deteriorated in the aftermath of the military takeovers. The three military governments have all terminated defense cooperation with Paris over allegations of meddling and the failure by French forces to put down a deadly jihadist insurgency in the Sahel region.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Niger's junta frees dozens of former officials and military officers detained after 2023 coup
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Niger's military junta has freed dozens of former government officials and military officers detained after a coup in 2023 as part of what military authorities have described as efforts to reform the country. The officials were released from prisons with immediate effect "in accordance with recommendations from the national reform conference,' according to a statement read on state television late Tuesday, referring to a recent conference that also set out how the country may transition to democratic rule. Some of the officials had worked in the cabinet of the deposed administration of President Mohamed Bazoum. Among those freed were Mahamane Sani Issoufou, former oil minister and son of ex-president Mahamadou Issoufou, and Foumakoye Gado, president of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism, the ruling party under Bazoum's administration. Activists and at least one journalist were also freed, as well as military officials in detention before the coup, including those accused of attempting to overthrow Bazoum's government. Others have been detained for much longer for other alleged offences, including 'conspiracy against state security." Their freedom came days after junta leader Abdourahamane Tchiani was sworn as the country's president for a transition period of five years under a new charter that replaced the West African nation's constitution.
