Niger

Niger
Location	West Africa, Africa
Type	nation state
Member of	African Union, International Criminal Court, La Francophonie, UN

Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest.

Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2 (490,000 sq mi), making it the largest landlocked country in West Africa. Over 80% of its land area lies in the Sahara. Its predominantly Muslim population of about 25 million live mostly in clusters in the south and west of the country. The capital Niamey is located in Niger's southwest corner.

Attempted coup

On 31 March 2021, Niger's security forces thwarted an attempted coup by a military unit in the capital, Niamey. Gunfire was heard in the presidential palace.

The attack took place two days before newly elected president Mohamed Bazoum was due to be sworn into office. The Presidential Guard arrested some people during the incident.

On 2 April 2021, Bazoum was sworn in as the President of Niger.

Actual coup

Ben Norton reacts to Victoria Nuland's visit and explains why Niger's coup has the Collective West panicking

Late on 26 July 2023, a coup by the military overthrew President Bazoum, putting an end to the Seventh Republic. On 28 July, General Abdourahamane Tchiani proclaimed himself as Niger's de facto head of state.

ECOWAS suspended Niger's membership and threatened military action if President Bazoum was not returned to power by 6 August 2023. The coup leaders responded to the ECOWAS threat by closing Niger's airspace.

On 8 August 2023, the BBC reported that a senior US official, Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland had held face-to-face talks with Niger's military leaders following the coup. Victoria Nuland said the conversations had been "extremely frank and at times quite difficult". Speaking to reporters from capital Niamey, she said that, in talks lasting more than two hours, the US had offered its help "if there is a desire on the part of the people who are responsible for this to return to the constitutional order".

"I would not say that we were in any way taken up on that offer," she said.

Ms Nuland said she had met the new military chief of staff, Brigadier General Moussa Salaou Barmou, but not with Niger's self-proclaimed new leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, or with Mr Bazoum.

Mr Bazoum remains in detention but has previously spoken to US officials by phone.

Victoria Nuland said she also raised concerns over claims the coup leaders had asked Russia's mercenary Wagner Group for help in maintaining control of the country:

"The people who have taken this action here understand very well the risks to their sovereignty when Wagner is invited in," Ms Nuland said.

In September 2023 the Russian SVR gave out a press release in which it stated that the US is considering the assassination of the coup leaders.

 

Event

Event	Description
UTA Flight 772	1989 plane bombing in the African nation of Chad. Libya was framed for political reasons, in a striking resemblance to the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

 

Job here

Event	Appointed	End
Richard Blee	May 1989	January 1991

 

A citizen of Niger on Wikispooks

Title	Born	Description
Abdou Abarry	1969	United Nations diplomat from Niger

 

Related Document

Title	Type	Publication date	Author(s)	Description
Document:US intelligence services return to the practice of eliminating inconvenient African leaders	press release	7 September 2023	SVR	A press release by the Russian SVR Press Bureau in the aftermath of the 2023 coup in Niger

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