An adviser says Niger's ousted president is running out of food and experiencing increasingly dire conditions two weeks after he was ousted in a military coup and put under house arrest.
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    President Mohamed Bazoum, the West African nation’s democratically elected leader, has been held at the presidential palace in Niamey with his wife and son since mutinous soldiers moved against him on July 26.

    Bazoum remains in good health for now and will never resign, according to the adviser, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the sensitive situation with the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

    Most analysts and diplomats said the stated justification for the coup did not hold weight and the takeover resulted from a power struggle between the president and the head of his presidential guard, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who now says he runs the country.

    It’s one of the poorest countries in the world, and many Nigeriens live hand to mouth and say they’re too focused on finding food for their families to pay much attention to the escalating crisis.

    The junta shut Niger’s airspace this week and temporarily suspended authorization for diplomatic flights from friendly and partner countries, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    Neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, both of which are run by military regimes, have sided with the junta and warned that an intervention in Niger would be “would be tantamount to a declaration of war” against them.

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