Niger launches military coup, President and Ministers held at the Barracks

- Niamey, Niger military forces expected to stage a coup. The President and several ministers were arrested and are being held in military barracks. As reported by AFP, Friday (19/2/2010), a French diplomat who served in Niamey, Niger said that military forces attacked the presidential complex after a deadly firefight on Thursday (18 / 2). Military later captured President Mamadou Tandja and several ministers. "This happened after the cabinet to a meeting. Visible President Tandja in the hands of the rebels and the government cabinet members are also in their hands," said a diplomat who was unnamed. An African diplomat also confirmed that coup. "Tandja in them," he said. Tandja and a number of ministers are now believed to be in one of the military headquarters in Tondibia, 20 kilometers west of Niamey.