US President Joe Biden called for the immediate release of Niger’s elected President Mohamed Bazoum and for the country’s democracy to be preserved.
Bazoum, 63, was ousted a week ago by his own guard in a coup condemned by the United States, European nations and the United Nations.
Bazoum was feted in 2021 after winning elections that ushered in Niger’s first peaceful transition of power.
He took the helm of a country burdened by four previous coups since independence from France in 1960.