When mutinous soldiers seized power in the West African nation of Burkina Faso early last year, the president of neighboring Niger struck a dismissive note.
“This is nonsense,” President Mohamed Bazoum told two Western diplomats who sat in his office as news of the coup came through.
How cynical was it, Mr. Bazoum remarked, that the soldiers responsible for securing Burkina Faso had overthrown the government in the name of restoring security.
Now Mr. Bazoum faces the same fate.
Mr. Bazoum’s Western and African allies are trying to negotiate his release, and West African army chiefs on Friday were set to finalize a possible military intervention in Niger.
Persons:
Mohamed Bazoum, Bazoum, Burkina Faso, Bazoum’s
Organizations:
Burkina, West
Locations:
West African, Burkina Faso, Niger