Niger coup widely condemned, countries urge return to order

FILE PHOTO: President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum delivers a speech during the opening session of the New Global Financial Pact Summit at the Palais Brogniart in Paris on June 22, 2023. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

NIAMEY (Reuters) -Niger President Mohamed Bazoum remained held in the presidential palace on Thursday afternoon and it was unclear who was in charge of the country after soldiers on Wednesday evening declared a military coup that sparked widespread condemnation.

France, the country's former colonial power, and the West African regional bloc ECOWAS called for Bazoum's immediate release and a return to constitutional order. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said that constitutional order should be restored.