Ten arrested over attempted coup in Niger

Ten people who were involved in an attempted coup last month have been arrested, Niger’s president Mahamadou Issoufou (pictured) said late Tuesday. It was the first time Niger officials had confirmed the attempted coup.

By News Wires (text)

 

AFP - Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou announced late Tuesday that 10 people have been arrested for attempting a coup last month in the African country that recently emerged from military junta rule.
"Ten of those who had decided to undermine the security of the state with events planned to take place overnight from July 12 to 13, 2011, are under arrest and one of them is on the run," the president said in a message broadcast on the 51st anniversary of Niger's independence.
It was the first time Niger officials had confirmed the attempted coup.
In late July a military source had told AFP that "several soldiers, including a major and a lieutenant" has been arrested on suspicion of an attempted coup and assassination of President Issoufou."
In his message Tuesday, Issoufou said the inquiry would continue to try to find those behind the coup attempt.
"These events come at a time when the government has decided to take strong action against the misuse of public funds through payment of fake accounts," he said in a reference to the high-government body created last month to tackle corruption.
Issoufou was elected in March, ending the military rule that followed a February 2010 coup that toppled Mamadou Tandja, who held power in Niger for more than 10 years.
The election was widely viewed as fair and transparent and a major step toward democracy in a nation with a history of military coups.