Niger Nabs Alleged Coup Plotters
August 3, 2011 by UPI - United Press International, Inc.
NIAMEY, Niger, Aug. 3 (UPI) — A key suspect is still on the loose though authorities in Niger said Wednesday that 10 people were arrested in connection with a July coup attempt.
An unidentified source told the BBC in July that soldiers were plotting to assassinate Nigerian President Mahamadou Issoufou.
Sources told The Christian Science Monitor there was a plot to assassinate Issoufou on July 16, which was his 100th day in power. The newspaper adds the assassination would have paved the way for a return to military rule in the country.
Issoufou won a March election with 58 percent of the vote, ending the country’s military rule. Soldiers had ousted former President Mamadou Tandja last year. Tandja was seeking a third term in office.
Issoufou, a former opposition leader, said 10 were arrested in the latest coup attempt, though the ringleader was still at large, the BBC reports.
Voters in October voted for a new constitution that limits the president to two consecutive terms.
Niger endured four coups since gaining independence from France in 1960.
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