The United Nations says It is still delivering aid in Niger although U.N. officials in the country said on Friday they have not had any contact with the military coup leaders
Niger military officers declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as the new head of state of the West African nation on Friday, saying they had suspended the constitution and dissolved all former institutions after overthrowing President Mohamed Bazoum.
The United Nations has 1,600 staff in Niger – of which about 352 are international are all reported to be safe.
It has called on Bazoum to be released.
The United Nations says some 4.3 million people need humanitarian help in Niger, where more than 370,000 people are displaced within the country, which also hosts more than 250,000 refugees – mainly from Nigeria, Mali and Burkina Faso.
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A U.N. appeal for $584 million in aid funding is currently only 32% funded.
“The humanitarian response continues on the ground and has never stopped, actually, since the events occurred in Niger,” the U.N. World Food Programme official in Niger, Jean-Noel Gentile, told reporters.
(Editor: Oloyede Oworu)
