PRETORIA, October 20. /TASS/. Rebels who seized power in Niger this summer claim that ousted President President Mohamed Bazoum has attempted to escape from custody, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported citing a spokesman for the current authorities.

Col. Amadou Abdramane, a spokesman for the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) told the national television that "at around 3:00 a.m. on Thursday, deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, accompanied by his family, two cooks and two bodyguards, attempted to escape the place of his detention."

AFP quoted the colonel as saying that the escape attempt "has failed," while its "main perpetrators and several accomplices" were arrested.

On July 26, a group of rebel army officers announced the ousting of President Mohamed Bazoum, the closure of the republic's borders, a curfew, the suspension of the constitution, and a ban on the political parties’ activities.

On July 28, the plotters proclaimed General Abdurahmane Tchiani the head of state. During the coup, he led the presidential guard, whose units detained Bazoum and continue to keep him in custody in his residence.