Soldiers in the West African country of Niger have announced a coup on national TV.
According to the BBC, they said they had dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions and closed the nation’s borders.
Niger President Mohamed Bazoum has been held by troops from the presidential guard since early on Wednesday.
He was promised Washington’s “unwavering support” in a call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also said he had spoken to the president and offered the UN’s full support.
In a statement, Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, “strongly” condemned what he called a coup attempt “by members of the military acting in total betrayal of their republican duty”.
West Africa’s 15-nation regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States called for Bazoum’s immediate and unconditional release, warning that all those involved would be held responsible for his safety.
Bola Tinubu, president of Nigeria and chair of ECOWAS, said he was already in “close consultation” with other leaders in the region about the situation.
Benin’s President Patrice Talon was on his way to Niger after the “military misbehaviour” there, Tinubu said.
“The ECOWAS leadership will not accept any action that impedes the smooth functioning of legitimate authority in Niger or any part of West Africa,” he said in a statement. “We will do everything within our powers to ensure democracy is firmly planted, nurtured, well rooted and thrives in our region.”
Mr Bazoum is a key Western ally in the fight against Islamist militancy in West Africa.
Two neighbouring countries, Mali and Burkina Faso, have experienced coups triggered by jihadist uprisings in recent years.
In both countries the new military leaders have fallen out with France, the former colonial power, which also formerly ruled Niger.
