The African Union suspends Niger until ‘the effective restoration of constitutional order’

By SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — The African Union has suspended Niger from all of its institutions and activities “until the effective restoration of constitutional order” following last month’s coup. The council of the 55-nation bloc made the decision after mutinous soldiers overthrew Niger’s democratically elected president and quickly entrenched themselves in power. President Mohamed Bazoum, his wife and son have been kept under house arrest in the capital. Also on Tuesday, Niger’s Embassy in Germany suspended the use of firearms by Germans in the West African nation and by all foreign embassies and missions under its jurisdiction, according to a letter seen by The Associated Press.