Ousted Nigerien President requests US intervention in Washington Post op-ed

In a Washington Post op-ed published Thursday night, Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum said he was being held “hostage” by his own soldiers at the presidential palace in Niamey. Members of the Nigerien military seized control of the government, closed the borders, and claimed to have taken power of the country in a televised announcement on July 26. Bazoum said the coup had “no justification whatsoever” to seize control of Niger and called on the U.S. government and international community to “help restore constitutional order.”