Premier says army calm despite arrests

Niger Prime Minister Hama Amadou said in Paris on Tuesday there was no dissent in his army despite the arrest of officers who were considered close to late president Ibrahim Bare Mainassara, AFP reported. He told reporters that the arrested officers were suspected of organising the kidnapping on Saturday of Major Djibrilla Hamidou Hima, one of the strongmen in the last military government run by Major Daouda Mallam Wanke. Wanke seized power after men under his command assassinated Mainassara on 9 April 1999. The government announced in Niamey on Tuesday that 10 officers had been arrested. Privately owned radio stations said they included two former armed forces chiefs of staff. Dismissing reports that a split in the army had led to the kidnapping, Amadou told reporters in Paris that the army was “calm and there has been no disturbance in Niamey and in military bases elsewhere in the country”.