Coup in Niger condemned by African groups

NIAMEY, Niger, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- The African Union has condemned a coup in Niger and the detention of Niger President Mamadou Tandja.

AU leader Jean Ping said he was concerned as he watched developments unfold following a day of gunbattles that resulted in the takeover, the BBC reported Friday.

The coup was led Col. Salou Djibo, described as chief squadron leader. Little information was releaded about Djibo. A heavily armed unit under his command played a major role in the fighting, reports said.

The Economic Community of West African States said it "roundly condemned" the coup and sent a delegation to talk to the organizers.

"We condemn the coup d'etat just as we condemn the constitutional coup d'etat by Tandja," ECOWAS official Abdel Fatau Musa told the BBC.

The whereabouts of Tandja is unknown, but he is believed to be held at a military base near Niamey, the country's capital, the BBC said.

One opposition activist told the British broadcaster the soldiers were "honest patriots" fighting tyranny.

Coup organizers said they wanted to restore democracy and protect the country's citizens from "poverty, deception and corruption."

Tandja prompted a political crisis in August when he changed the constitution to allow him to remain in power indefinitely. He was first elected in 1999 and was returned to power in 2004.

Gunfire could be heard throughout the capital Thursday, witnesses told the BBC. Several people were believed to have died but the number of casualties was unknown.

In an address Thursday, a spokesman for the coup leaders said the constitution was suspended and state institutions were dissolved. A curfew also was imposed and Niger's borders were closed.