The military leaders who overthrew Niger’s president, Mohamed Bazoum, slammed the “perfidious actions” of the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, late Friday, accusing him of obstructing their participation in the body’s General Assembly.
In a news release read on public television, the military called on “the national and international community to witness the perfidious actions of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which are likely to undermine any effort to end the crisis in our country.”
Guterres “went astray in the exercise of his mission by obstructing Niger’s full participation in the 78th session of the UN General Assembly,” it added.
Bakary Sangare, who before the coup was Niger’s ambassador to the UN and is now its foreign minister, was set to represent Niamey at the gathering.
“Mr. Guterres not only refused to take note of the official list of delegates from Niger… but above all acceded to the fanciful request of the former minister of foreign affairs Hassoumi Massaoudou tending to revoke the permanent representative of Niger to the United Nations,” the military statement said.
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