The military junta governing Niger has acknowledged that the clashes recorded early this morning in several key points of the capital, Niamey, respond to an attempted coup that, according to the authorities, is in the phase of "containment."
The Nigerien Minister of Defense, Salifou Mody, has attributed these events to a "movement of insurgents" that would have been halted thanks to "the rapid intervention of the defense and security forces."
According to the Defense official, this operation "has allowed to contain this movement and progressively regain control of the areas in question," as he explained in a statement released by Télé Sahel, the public broadcaster of Niger, which has resumed its programming after a brief broadcast interruption early in the morning.
In the message issued by the state television, the authorities concluded with a call to the population: "The public is urged to remain calm and freely carry out their daily activities."