Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum was reportedly being held in the presidential palace in a suspected coup attempt on Wednesday.

Members and military vehicles belonging to the elite presidential guards blocked off the office since Wednesday morning, security sources said.

The movements have the semblance of four military takeovers that have hit neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso since 2020.

Ministries next to the palace have also been blocked off and staff inside the palace have not been able to access their offices, presidency and security sources said.

The rest of Niamey appeared calm, with normal morning traffic on the road and full internet access, a Reuters reporter said.

Previous coups in Burkina Faso and Mali were spurred in part by frustrations over authorities' failure to stem a terrorist insurgency blighting the Sahel region, which includes Niger.

There was also a thwarted coup attempt in Niger in March 2021, when a military unit tried to seize the presidential palace days before Bazoum was due to be sworn in.