The African Union suspended Niger for the coup against Bazoum

The African Union (AU) suspended Niger's membership pending the effective restoration of constitutional order in the country following the military coup against President Mohamed Bazoum last month.

The Peace and Security Council of the 55-nation African bloc reiterated its condemnation of the coup and said it took "note" of the decision by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to authorize a possible armed intervention to restore Bazoum.

Niger joins Mali, Sudan, Guinea and Burkina Faso, suspended from the bloc for the same reasons.

In a statement, however, he asked the ECOWAS countries to carry out "an assessment of the economic, social and security implications" that a deployment of their reserve forces would have in Niger.

Likewise, the AU Peace and Security Council reaffirmed "its full solidarity with ECOWAS' efforts" to "restore constitutional order through diplomatic means," the Europa Press news agency reported.

The coup in Niger

It happened on July 26, when a group of members of the Presidential Guard, led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani, arrested Bazoum and his wife, who have been held since then at their residence in Niamey, the capital.

Tchiani proclaimed himself Niger's leader two days later, saying last weekend that the "transition" he is leading will last three years. The military said they carried out the coup because of the worsening security situation in Niger, which is facing an Islamist insurgency.

Last Saturday, a delegation from West Africa met with the ousted president, and a source said that day that his "morals were high."

That source specified that the president "still" does not have electricity in the place where he is detained.