The UN reiterated on Friday that it is still offering humanitarian help on the ground in Niger despite having to halt flights after the coup shut down borders.
On Thursday, a UN official had stated that this week’s putsch in a fragile Sahel nation had halted humanitarian activities.
The UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Niger, Nicole Kouassi, however, told reporters that the organization’s efforts to promote peace, development, and humanitarian aid “continue” there.
“What we have grounded at this point is the humanitarian assistance flights,” she said, adding they are “temporarily suspended just because the Niger airspace is closed given the closure of the borders.”
“We are committed to support and to continue our operational work on the ground given the situation,” Kouassi told reporters in New York via video-link from Niamey.
General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who has been in charge of the Presidential Guard since 2011, was named the new leader of Niger by the country’s putschists on Friday. President Mohamed Bazoum was detained by army personnel on Wednesday.
The 22 million-person country of Niger is two-thirds desert and routinely places last on the UN’s Human Development Index, a measure of affluence.
