Niger Foreign Minister Massoumi Massoudou told France 24 on Thursday that the administration is attempting mediation with members of Niger’s military who conducted a coup of President Mohamed Bazoum’s administration. His statement comes only hours after Niger’s military announced they supported the coup carried out by military members of Bazoum’s elite guard on Wednesday.

Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane announced the coup on state television ORTN on Wednesday, surrounded by military members of Bazoum’s elite presidential guard—which has since renamed itself the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country (NCSC). Abdramane cited deteriorating security, poor economic conditions and social governance as reasons for the coup. He also stated that all land and air borders to the country would be closed until the situation “stabilized.”

The same military members that announced the coup held Bazoum captive in the presidential palace all day Wednesday, drawing protesters. Despite his captivity, Bazoum appeared defiant, writing on his social media that all of the hard-won achievements of Niger’s democracy would be safeguarded.

The coup has drawn international condemnation. The US called for Bazoum’s immediate release on Wednesday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, “The U.S. condemns efforts to subvert Niger’s constitutional order by force, and underscores that our partnership depends on the continuation of democratic governance.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres also stated he was concerned for Bazoum’s safety and echoed the US’s calls for his release. Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat joined in the condemnation of the coup on Wednesday. In a statement, he called for “the people of Niger, all their brothers in Africa, particularly in ECOWAS, and around the world, to join their voices in unanimous condemnation of this coup attempt, and for the immediate and unconditional return of the felon soldiers to their barracks.”

Bazoum was first elected president of Niger in 2021. His election marked the first democratic transfer of power after decades of power struggles and coups.

Niger belongs to a region of West Africa known as the Sahel region. In 2021, UN experts found that more than two million people within the region were displaced due to the high rates of violence from armed insurgent groups, criminal gangs and government forces. The situation in the region was further illuminated by a May report from the UN, which found that a complex trafficking web exists in the Sahel region. UN experts found that the trafficking web spans firearms, medical products, fuel and migrants. And a March UN report found that as many as ten million children in the region are desperately in need of humanitarian aid.

Neighboring countries in the Sahel region, including Burkina Faso and Mali, have also suffered coups in recent years. In 2022, Burkina Faso faced two coups, with one occurring in January and the other in September. In January 2022, the military overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kabore. But the military junta’s rule only persisted through September 2022, when soldiers announced they overthrew leading Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba. In August 2020, Assimi Goïta led a coup in Mali which resulted in the ousting of President Bah Ndaw’s administration.

The situation in Niger is rapidly developing.