Niger junta says it thwarted an escape attempt by detained president Bazoum ousted in July coup

NIAMEY

The junta in Niger says it has thwarted an escape attempt to by the West African nation’s outed president. In a communique read late Thursday, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane said that deposed President Mohamed Bazoum had tried to escape detention overnight. The attempt comes nearly three months after the democratically elected leader was detained in the wake of a military coup. The junta said that Bazoum was attempting to reach a waiting vehicle that was to take him to the outskirts of the capital, Niamey. From there, he and his family were to be flown to Nigeria. The United States has formally declared that the ousting of Bazoum was a coup.