UN "concerned" about Bazoum's living conditions

The Secretary-General is “very concerned” over the "deplorable living conditions" that President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger and his family are reported to be living under as they continue to be arbitrarily detained by members of the Presidential Guard in Niger.

In a statement read on his behalf Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for Bazoum's “immediate, unconditional release and his reinstatement as Head of State.”

UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, said that the UN is aware of reports that Bazoum and his family are living without electricity, water, food or medicine.

Niger's deposed president is running out of food and under increasingly dire conditions two weeks after he was ousted in a military coup and put under house arrest, an adviser said Wednesday.

The U.S. State Department also expressed deep concern about the “deteriorating conditions” of his detention.

“We are aware of recent reports that President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger and his family are living without electricity, water, food or medicine, and I can say the following: The Secretary-General is very concerned over the deplorable living conditions that President Bazoum and his family are reported to be living under as they continue to be arbitrarily detained by members of the Presidential Guard in Niger. The Secretary-General reiterates his concern over the health and safety of the President and his family and once again calls for his immediate, unconditional release and his reinstatement as Head of State. The Secretary-General is also alarmed over continuing reports about the arrest of several members of the government. He urgently calls for their unconditional release and for the strict adherence to Niger’s international human rights obligations,” said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General.

President Bazoum, the West African nation's democratically elected leader, has been held at the presidential palace in Niamey with his wife and son since mutinous soldiers moved against him on July 26.