UN still delivering aid in Niger, zero contact with military

The United Nations is still delivering aid in Niger although UN officials in the country said on Friday they have not had any contact with the military following a coup.

Niger military officers declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as the new head of state of the West African on Friday, saying they had suspended the constitution and dissolved all former institutions after overthrowing President Mohamed Bazoum.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

“We are not in contact with the military,” Nicole Kouassi, the current top UN official in Niger, told reporters.

“Concerning the president, information we have from our political office is he seemed to be at his home and he seemed to be fine,” she said. “The situation in the country is quite calm.”

The UN has called for Bazoum to be released.

The United Nations has 1,600 staff in Niger – of which about 352 are international – and Kouassi said all were safe.

The United Nations says some 4.3 million people need humanitarian help in Niger, where more than 370,000 people are displaced within the country, which also hosts more than 250,000 refugees – mainly from Nigeria, Mali and Burkina Faso.

A UN appeal for $584 million in aid funding is currently only 32 percent funded.

“The humanitarian response continues on the ground and has never stopped, actually, since the events occurred in Niger,” the UN World Food Program official in Niger, Jean-Noel Gentile, told reporters.

Wagner Group mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who remains active despite leading a failed mutiny against the Russian army’s top brass last month, hailed Niger’s military coup as good news and offered his fighters’ services to bring order.

“As of now, no sign of Wagner from the UN perspective,” said Kouassi.

Read more:

EU threatens to cut aid to Niger after military coup

Army general, Tchiani, named as new leader of Niger after military coup

Audio message by Wagner chief says Niger coup is part of fight against ‘colonizers’