The president of Chad, General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, has arrived in Niger to help resolve the crisis in the country following a coup, a Chad government spokesman told AFP.

Itno arrived in the capital Niamey on Sunday "to see what he could bring to solving the crisis," Aziz Mahamat Saleh said, adding that the trip was on the initiative of Chad, which neighbours Niger.

Niger President Mohamed Bazoum was removed from power by members of the Presidential Guard on Wednesday, and the unit's leader, Abdourahamane Tchiani, named as the country’s transitional head of state.