Niger's new military rulers posted tanks and trucks mounted with machine guns around the presidential palace Friday, a day after toppling veteran strongman leader Mamadou Tandja in a bloody coup.
Military pick-up trucks mounted with automatic machine guns were also stationed in front of the prime minister's office and the foreign ministry, an AFP correspondent said.
There was no sign of fresh violence after Thursday's gunbattles around the palace during which at least three soldiers were killed and Tanja was toppled.
Other parts of the capital were calm with people going about their business as normal after a nightime curfew.
The junta has so far not said where 71-year-old Tandja is being held but sources in his government have said he is being held in a barracks on the outskirts of Niamey.
The Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD) junta which took over from Tandja, sought the backing of the country's 15 million people in its bid to turn Niger into an example of a "good democracy and governance".
Within hours of storming the presidential palace during a cabinet meeting chaired by Tandja, a group of military top brass announced it had suspended the constitution Tandja foisted through a controversial referendum last August.
Tandja had defied outcry both inside the country and abroad at his move to change the constitution to allow himself to extend his grip on power.
Junta head squadron leader Salou Djibo, whose heavily-armed unit played a key role in Thursday's coup, said in a statement read on state television that the government was dissolved.
The troops said Thursday they decided to "take our responsibilities in ending the tense political situation" said CSRD spokesman colonel Goukoye Abdoulkarim.
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