Gunfire spotted nearby Presidency Palace in Niger

Gunfire activity has been witnessed nearby the headquarter of the presidency in Niamey, Niger on early Wednesday.

This came two days after the controversial presidential elections in the state which ended with the victory of president-elect Mohamed Bazoum.

The incident was named an "attempted coup" and it was ended by the presidential guards, France 24's correspondent in the city confirmed.

"With two days to go before the inauguration of the new president, we know that the main challenge facing him is security, but we were thinking more of terrorist attacks, not this kind of action," he highlighted.

An eyewitness narrated to the AFP: "It was around 3 am, we heard shots from heavy and light weapons and it lasted 15 minutes before stopping, followed by shots from light weapons."

In the same context, a number of residents confirmed that the event lasted for at least 20 minutes before it was shortly ended by the guards.

Niger is still facing a sense of violence and disturbance after President Mahamadou Issoufou lost the elections and rejected the final results.