Blinken calls for immediate release of ousted Niger president

UNITED STATES: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday called for the immediate release of ousted Niger President Mohamed Bazoum and the restoration of democratic order in the country.

Leaders of a coup in Niger declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as head of state on Friday, saying they had ousted Bazoum in the seventh military takeover in West and Central Africa in less than three years.