The coup in Niger Republic has succeeded with soldiers announcing on national TV a dissolution of the constitution, Aljazeera reported.
This makes Niger the sixth country in the West Africa sub-region to experience a coup since August 2020.
The soldiers led by Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane announced they had carried out a coup and closed all West African borders.
In a statement broadcast on national television and quoted by Aljazeera, Mr Abdramane said that “the defence and security forces … have decided to put an end to the regime you are familiar with”.
Reports emerged on Wednesday on an attempted coup in Niger where the presidential palace was blocked by soldiers with President Mohammed Bazoum believed to be held inside the palace.
World leaders including Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu have condemned the coup and noted that it will not be tolerated.
The US, France, UN, ECOWAS and African Union also condemned the coup calling for a return to status quo. There have also been protests by citizens of Niger who are against the coup.
On Wednesday, ECOWAS, led by Tinubu, sent the President of Benin, Patrice Talon, to Niger to mediate in the crisis.
Talon had briefly met with Tinubu in Abuja before leaving for Niger.
It was not clear at the time of this report if Talon had met the coup leaders or ousted President Mohammed Bazoum.
