Humanitarian agency says country calm

In an independent assessment of the situation, Doug Steinberg, the CARE country director for Niger, has described the southern section of the country as calm despite a declared state of emergency. In a statement on Wednesday, he said public response to the coup in the key towns of Zinder, Konni, Maradi and Diffa ranged from "peaceful to optimistic". "Our projects to assist the people of Niger are moving ahead as usual, but we are monitoring the situation carefully and taking all precautions to protect CARE staff," Steinberg said. "The situation could have dire implications for the political future of Niger, but relatively little immediate risk for CARE's work with Niger's poorest families." Supported by the governments of Denmark, France, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States, CARE said its projects in rural Niger were focused on natural resource management, agricultural production, public health for children and women's income generation.