NIAMEY, Niger, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Soldiers in Niger staged an apparent coup Thursday, storming the presidential palace, diplomats and government officials said.
However, no official announcement on the government's status has been made.
The New York Times quoted Boureima Soumana Sory Diallo, president of the state media regulatory agency, as saying there had been a "coup d'etat" and the whereabouts of President Mamadou Tandja were unclear.
Robert Tate, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Niamey, said the embassy had received unconfirmed reports Tandja was in insurgent custody.
The apparent coup followed demonstrations last week and Tandja's decision last year to dissolve the National Assembly and the nation's highest court. He also pushed through a constitution that invested him with more power, an action that prompted the regional bloc of West African nations to suspend Niger and the United States to cut off all non-humanitarian aid.
Heavy gunfire was reported around the presidential palace, the Times said.
"I was right near the presidential palace, and people started running everywhere," American Harry Birnholz said.
