Niger.

President 'seized in Niger coup' THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2010
20:59 MECCA TIME, 17:59 GMT. The president of the West African nation of Niger has been taken hostage after armed soldiers stormed the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey, witnesses said. The attack on Thursday came after witnesses reported hearing machine gunfire near the palace where Mamadou Tandja, the country's president, was believed to be holding a meeting. A journalist in the capital, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, said the president is currently being held by soldiers at a garrison in the city. "The rebels have taken the president to a certain place, pending he submits his resignation," he told Al Jazeera. "That's why the rebels have not announced yet on national television or radio the coup. They want the president to resign by himself from the position. "Armed soldiers are now controlling the presidential palace and they also took government ministers when they took the president." The AFP news agency earlier cited a French official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, as saying the violence was a "coup attempt" that security officials were trying to put down. "All I can say is that it would appear that Tandja is not in a good position," he said. Political turmoil. Political tensions have risen in Niger since Tandja dissolved the parliament last year and extended his own mandate following a referendum beyond a second term. In June, Tandja dissolved the constitutional court that had ruled against him and assumed the power to rule by decree, brushing aside international criticism of the move, saying he was answerable only to the people of Niger. The opposition disputed the August 4 referendum that allowed Tandja to stay in power until 2012, after he was supposed to step down in December following two five-year terms in a row. Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Niamey in November, calling for Tandja to resign. The opposition Coordination of Democratic Forces for the Republic (CFDR), which comprises political parties, human rights and labour organisations, had denounced the referendum as a "coup" and called for fresh elections to be organised. The opposition also boycotted October 20 legislative elections, after which the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) suspended Niger as a member and the European Union put a freeze on its development aid. Tandja has ruled the uranium-rich Saharan state since 1999. The country has gone through five constitutions and periods of military rule since it gained independence from France in 1960.