WASHINGTON: Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, has expressed grave concern over the refusal of Niger’s military leaders to release the family of the detained president Mohamed Bazoum.
AFP reported on Friday that in a phone call with Niger’s former president Mahamadou Issoufou, Blinken voiced his apprehension at the continued unlawful detention of President Bazoum and his family.
President Mohamed Bazoum’s government was toppled on July 26 when men of his own guard put him and his family under house arrest at the presidency.
Antony Blinken has said Niger’s military leaders have declined to release the family of the detained president as a goodwill gesture.
Blinken dismayed over continued detention of Bazoum
He added he is dismayed by the refusal of Niger coup leader to release Bazoum’s family members from captivity.
The European Union and African Union (AU) on Friday voiced concerns about the detention of Bazoum.
UN rights chief Volker Turk said Bazoum’s deteriorating health under custody is a matter of great concern for the international rights organization.
Earlier, the African bloc ECOWAS had given a week to the coup leaders in Niger to restore the democratic government or face military intervention.
However, the efforts by ECOWAS and the United States to resolve the crisis in the country have failed to make any progress so far.
Niger has played a key role in Western strategies to fight and combat jihadist insurgencies with the support of France and the United States.
