People in Niger awoke to a divided country on Thursday after mutinous soldiers claimed to have ousted the president. But the government said it will never accept their rule and has called for the population to reject it. “There was an attempted coup, but of course we cannot accept it,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassoumi Massoudou said on Thursday.

“We call on all Nigerien democratic patriots to stand up as one against this action that will set us back decades and block progress,” he said. He also called for the president’s release.