Luanda — The Angola government on Thursday said it condemned the coup d'état that took place on Wednesday (July26) in the Republic of Niger, and demanded the immediate release of President Mohamed Bazoum, family members and collaborators.

The Angolan government's position is expressed in a statement released Thursday in Luanda, in which it considers the situation "a serious attack to the country's constitutional order", and "an inadmissible violation of democratic principles".

Angola emphasises the fact that the coup perpetrated by a group of military personnel violates the principles "in which the legitimacy of the power established in 2021, through free and democratic elections is based".

In the light of these facts, the statement continues, the Angolan government and the President of the Republic, as Champion of Peace and National Reconciliation in Africa, express the conviction that a climate of understanding will be achieved.

It states that it hopes for a climate of understanding "that will urgently favour" and "enable the restoration of democratic legitimacy in the country".

The Angolan government expresses "unequivocally" its support for the position taken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in strongly condemning the coup.

Angola urges ECOWAS to take the necessary steps to resume "quickly" the functioning of legitimate state institutions in the Republic of Niger, the statement says.

On july 26, a group of soldiers led a coup d'état against the legitimate Nigerien government.

Niger is located in the landlocked centre-west region of Africa and borders Libya (to the north), Chad (to the east), Nigeria (to the south), Benin and Burkina Faso (to the south-west), Mali (to the west) and Algeria (to the north-west). AL/ADR/Amp/jmc