The ousted leader of Niger and his family are now being detained by their military captors under terrible circumstances. The military kidnappers have shut off the power to the presidential house, which has caused the family to quickly lose weight as food rots in the refrigerator, according to the daughter.
Daughter Says Family Members Are Without Power and Food
Zazia Bazoum was on vacation in France when her father, Mohamed Bazoum, was arrested by members of his own presidential guard last month. She said she speaks with her parents and brother nearly every day and that they are going without clean water and eating rice and pasta because their gas oven is out of fuel.
"The situation of my family is very difficult currently. They are staying in the dark, and the weather in Niger is very difficult. So it's very sad that they are always in the dark and the house is very hot ... it's OK for them, they say they will keep fighting, but it's hard for [me and my two siblings abroad] to see our family in this situation and they can't go out," she told The Guardian.
Zazia claimed that the lack of electricity in her family's captivity was the work of their kidnappers, despite reports that power had been shut off to Niger by neighboring Nigeria to exert pressure on the country's military.
She added that the junta officials had forbidden her father's doctor access to the presidential palace in Niamey and that the doctor had been warned not to return.
Her parents had dropped approximately 5 kg each, and her 22-year-old brother Salem, who is being kept alongside his parents, had lost nearly 10 kilograms, she claimed.
She emphasized the gravity of the issue, saying, "This is very dangerous, [the coup leaders] are doing it to put pressure on them, but it's not fair to see them in this situation."
New Military Commanders Refuse Diplomatic Negotiations
In spite of worldwide pressure, the junta has refused to free the democratically elected leader. Both the United States and the United Nations have expressed worry about his health.
General Abdourahamane Tchiani declared himself the new leader of Niger. He and his supporters have nominated ministers in a new cabinet this week, a move that signals their determination to stay in power.
As part of their efforts to pressure the junta to resign, leaders from the influential Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) activated the bloc's standby force on Thursday, August 10. A broader African Union group issued a similar plea for help on Friday, August 11, calling the world community to intervene on Bazoum's behalf.
New military leaders in Niger have rejected diplomatic attempts to negotiate. Some worry that increased aggression may spark widespread violence in the heart of the turbulent and strategically significant Sahel.
