20110117
xinhua

NIAMEY, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Mamadou Tandja, the Nigerien president deposed in a military coup in February 2010, was moved to a prison close to the capital Niamey on Sunday, two weeks before the planned presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 31, according to official sources.

Tandja had been put under house arrest at the presidential palace since the Feb. 18 coup, in which the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy in Niger (CSRD) toppled him, citing his attempts to cling to power.

Tandja's transfer was disclosed by sources close to the presidential office, after a joint mission of the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations (UN) was sent to Niger this week to discuss the pre-election situation in the country.

The CSRD pledged a transitional period pending the polls to end the political crisis following the coup amid the international pressure for the return of the constitutional order.