After nearly three weeks of asking the United States and other allies to help bring Niger's president back to power, the democratically elected leader's friends and supporters are asking for a simpler request: Save his life, The Associated Press reports.

President Mohamed Bazoum, who leads the sole Western-allied democracy spanning the Sahara and Sahel regions in Africa, is currently confined with his family in a dark basement within his presidential compound. The junta that ousted him has severed their access to food, electricity, and cooking gas, Niger's Ambassador to the US, Mamadou Kiari Liman-Tinguiri, told the news agency.

“The plan of the head of the junta is to starve him to death,” he said.

Bazoum hasn't been seen in public since July 26, when military vehicles barricaded the presidential palace gates and security forces declared a takeover. The situation of Niger's President cannot be verified independently. The US, UN, and other nations have voiced worry about Bazoum's deteriorating condition in captivity. They cautioned the junta that they would be held accountable for the welfare of Bazoum and his family.