Niger's ousted president deprived of "all human contact”
Aug 11, 2023
Niamey [Niger], August 11 : Mohamed Bazoum, who was ousted in a coup d’etat by the presidential guard, said he has been deprived of all human contact and was given just dry rice and pasta by the military junta, CNN reported.
In a series of text messages to a friend, Bazoum said that he has been “deprived of all human contact” since Friday, with no one supplying him food or medicine.
Bazoum’s messages were given to CNN with the ousted president’s consent.
For the past week, the president was living without electricity, Bazoum said ad added that all the perishable food that he received was gone bad and now he is eating pasta and dry rice.
Despite his isolation, Bazoum has been in contact with the outside world. Though denied the chance to speak with acting US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland during her visit to Niamey, the Nigerien capital, on Monday, Bazoum spoke by phone with her boss – Secretary of State Antony Blinken – a day later, the State Department said.
Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, the prime minister in Bazoum’s government, told French TV that the president was in good spirits despite being held in a “catastrophic situation.”
Hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the political conflict, however, have begun to fade, reported CNN.
The US had earlier also shown its concern towards the Niger situation. On Wednesday United States State Secretary Antony Blinken has spoken to Niger's President and reiterated America's calls for his release.
On his social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) Blinken said that he spoke to Niger's President to express our continued efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the current constitutional crisis.
"Spoke to Nigerien President Bazoum to express our continued efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the current constitutional crisis. The United States reiterates our call for the immediate release of him and his family," he posted on the social media platform X.
Niger has been engulfed in political chaos since late last month when President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted in a coup d’etat by the presidential guard.
Despite the international pressure, the Niger junta is not ready for diplomatic talks, according to CNN.
