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Head of Presidential Guard Announced as Leader in Niger Coup Head of Presidential Guard Claims Power in Niger Coup
(about 2 hours later)
A general in Niger appeared on state television on Friday as the head of the West African country’s transitional leadership, two days after members of the unit he leads detained the democratically elected president and threw into uncertainty the future of a key Western ally in the region. The commander of the presidential guard in Niger claimed the leadership of the West African country with a televised address on Friday, two days after his military unit detained the democratically elected president and threw into uncertainty the future of a key Western ally in the region.
The general, Omar Tchiani, who had led Niger’s presidential guard, made a broadcast address that appeared to confirm that the coup in Niger was complete. It would be the sixth military takeover in West Africa in less than three years, following in the steps of Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali, and threatening to upend efforts to fight Islamist insurgencies in a region where groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State have made strides in recent years. “We have decided to intervene and seize our responsibilities,” Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who goes by the first name Omar, said on state television, where he was identified onscreen as the president of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country. “We can’t continue with the same approaches.”
General Tchiani said his soldiers had removed President Mohamed Bazoum from power on Wednesday because of bad economic governance and poor management of the security situation. He also faulted the country’s leadership for not partnering with the military juntas in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, which have moved close to Russia in recent years while Mr. Bazoum, in Niger, stuck with Western partners like the United States and France. Niger, a poor country rich in uranium, lies in the Sahel, the arid region south of the Sahara that has faced growing insecurity amid the worsening effects of climate change, political instability and armed insurgencies. The United States has 1,100 troops and two drone bases in Niger, and France, the former colonial power, more than 1,500 troops.
“We can’t continue with the same approaches,” General Tchiani said. He made no mention of Mr. Bazoum. The military takeover in Niger is the sixth in West Africa in less than three years, following in the steps of Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali, and threatening to upend efforts in the region to fight Islamist insurgencies by groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Niger has been a key Western ally in the Sahel, the arid region south of the Sahara that has faced growing insecurity amid the worsening effects of climate change, political instability and armed insurgencies. The United States has 1,100 troops and two drone bases in Niger, and France, the former colonial power, more than 1,500 troops. An aide to Mr. Bazoum and analysts said in interviews in the last two days that the president had been planning to remove General Tchiani as leader of the presidential guard.
General Tchiani, however, said his soldiers had unseated President Mohamed Bazoum because of poor management of the economy and the fight against the militants.
While saying that he appreciated the “support of our external partners” — an apparent reference to the United States and European countries — he also faulted Niger’s leadership for not partnering with the military juntas in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, which have moved close to Russia in recent years.
“The current security approach hasn’t enabled us to secure our country,” he said.
He did not say anything about Mr. Bazoum, whose fate remained unclear on Friday morning. A Western military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said members of the presidential guard were still detaining the president with his family.
Niger, a country of 26 million and the world’s third poorest, according to the United Nations, has also been a favored recipient of humanitarian aid and Western funding as one of the last democracies run by a civilian president in the region.
The future of these efforts now appears to be in doubt.
Hours before General Tchiani’s television address on Friday, the streets of Niamey, the capital, remained calm, with banks closed but many businesses open. The generals supporting the coup had closed the country’s borders and ordered the suspension of political activities. A nighttime curfew remained in place.
The United States, the United Nations and the West African economic bloc, known as ECOWAS, have all condemned the military takeover. Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken, who spoke with Mr. Bazoum on Thursday, called for his immediate release.
France said in a statement issued by its foreign ministry on Friday afternoon that it did not recognize the transitional authorities led by General Tchiani.
In Niamey on Thursday, hundreds of protesters had gathered in support of the military. Some shouted “Bazoum has fallen, we’re free,” in Zarma, one of the languages spoken in Niger. Others waved Russian flags in a scene reminiscent of previous coups in Burkina Faso and Mali, two countries General Tchiani vowed to work more closely with.
Military officers in Mali have partnered with Russia’s Wagner mercenary company to fight Islamist insurgents. The prime minister of Burkina Faso traveled to Moscow a few months after a military junta seized power there.
A shift in alliances could have major implications for Western countries and international bodies. The United Nations has planned to use Niger as a logistical hub for the withdrawal of its 13,000-personnel peacekeeping operation in neighboring Mali, which is scheduled to depart at the end of the year. France depends on Niger’s uranium mines for about 15 percent of the resources needed to fuel its nuclear power plants.
Some of the pro-military protesters on Thursday set off to the headquarters of Mr. Bazoum’s political party where they broke dozens of cars, stole refrigerators, tables and other goods inside the party’s building, before setting it on fire.
Omar Hama Saley contributed reporting from Niamey, Niger.Omar Hama Saley contributed reporting from Niamey, Niger.