Blinken calls for immediate release of Niger president

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken poses for a photograph with members of the Niger Defence and Security Forces before departing Niger at the Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger, on March 17, 2023. BOUREIMA HAMA/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called for the immediate release of Niger President Mohamed Bazoum.

Bazoum has been removed from power, according to a group of soldiers who appeared on the West African nation's national television late on Wednesday, hours after the president was held in the presidential palace.