Niger President Mamadou Tandja toppled by a military coup
February 19th, 2010 - 1:47 am ICT by Aishwarya Bhatt
Niamey, Feb 18 (THAINDIAN NEWS) There have been reports that the Niger President Mamadou Tandja is in custody, after being toppled by military coup in the African nation. The military sources confirmed the news of his arrest to Reuters. Military personnel captured President Tandja, while he was chairing his weekly cabinet meeting, the government source said.
Earlier there were reports, that soldiers were holding the Niger President Mamadou Tandja and his cabinet after there was a gun battle in the capital. Reportedly there was gunfire in the presidential palace at around 1200 GMT, which continued for around half an hour.
Witnesses say that there was tank fire and the injured people were being taken to the hospital for treatment. There is complete chaos in the capital, because of the military coup. It may be recalled that trouble has been brewing in Niger since last year. Another cause for the military coup was that the President Tandja had changed the constitution in August, which would allow him to be the President for a third term too. He was widely criticized for this action. He has already ruled over the nation for over a decade. He had even closed down the parliament and the constitutional court.
A senior presidential official for the President Tandja said to the media that, “All I can say is that it would appear that Tandja is not in a good position”.
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