Niger seeks post-coup alliance with Mali and Burkina Faso in Russia-linked shift
ByThe Rio Times
July 29, 2023
The military junta in Niger, following their coup against President Mohamed Bazoum, has shown interest in cooperating with neighboring countries Mali and Burkina Faso.
These nations are already under military-led governments and have strengthened ties with Russia.
Niger, one of Africa’s poorest countries, was previously France’s main ally in the unstable Sahel region and had maintained a cautious distance from Mali and Burkina Faso.
After the coup, Niger’s junta accused France of landing a military plane at Niamey international airport, despite a declared border closure.
ByThe Rio Times
July 29, 2023
The military junta in Niger, following their coup against President Mohamed Bazoum, has shown interest in cooperating with neighboring countries Mali and Burkina Faso.
These nations are already under military-led governments and have strengthened ties with Russia.
Niger, one of Africa’s poorest countries, was previously France’s main ally in the unstable Sahel region and had maintained a cautious distance from Mali and Burkina Faso.
After the coup, Niger’s junta accused France of landing a military plane at Niamey international airport, despite a declared border closure.
Niger seeks post-coup alliance with Mali and Burkina Faso in Russia-linked shift to Russia. (Photo Internet reproduction)
The junta further warned against any foreign military intervention, amidst speculated presence of French military personnel in Niamey.
The coup unfolds amidst an increasing anti-French sentiment in the Sahel, heightened by Mali and Burkina Faso expelling French forces from their territories.
While Niger did not participate in the Russia-Africa summit held in Saint Petersburg recently, Russian media reported that representatives from Niger had met with the head of the Wagner group of mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The ousted Nigerien President, Mohamed Bazoum, had previously expressed concerns about the influence of Wagner and a potential coup backed by them.
Following the coup, the self-proclaimed head of the junta, General Abdourahamane Tiani, criticized Bazoum for not cooperating with Burkina Faso and Mali, signaling a potential strengthening of ties with these neighboring nations.
These three countries share an area known as “the three borders,” a vast, dangerous territory currently experiencing a resurgence of jihadist activity.
The region suffers not only from terrorism and political instability but also the impacts of climate change.
According to the UN, 4.3 million people in Niger (from a population of 26 million) rely on humanitarian aid, making it one of the most delicate areas in the world.
The junta further warned against any foreign military intervention, amidst speculated presence of French military personnel in Niamey.
The coup unfolds amidst an increasing anti-French sentiment in the Sahel, heightened by Mali and Burkina Faso expelling French forces from their territories.
While Niger did not participate in the Russia-Africa summit held in Saint Petersburg recently, Russian media reported that representatives from Niger had met with the head of the Wagner group of mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The ousted Nigerien President, Mohamed Bazoum, had previously expressed concerns about the influence of Wagner and a potential coup backed by them.
Following the coup, the self-proclaimed head of the junta, General Abdourahamane Tiani, criticized Bazoum for not cooperating with Burkina Faso and Mali, signaling a potential strengthening of ties with these neighboring nations.
These three countries share an area known as “the three borders,” a vast, dangerous territory currently experiencing a resurgence of jihadist activity.
The region suffers not only from terrorism and political instability but also the impacts of climate change.
According to the UN, 4.3 million people in Niger (from a population of 26 million) rely on humanitarian aid, making it one of the most delicate areas in the world.
Who is General Tchiani, head of Niger's new military government?
Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, the commander of Niger's presidential guards unit, was appointed head of state on 28 July by a governing council set up by military forces that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
Issued on: 29/07/2023
Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, the commander of Niger's presidential guards unit, was appointed head of state on 28 July by a governing council set up by military forces that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
Issued on: 29/07/2023
In this image taken from video provided by ORTN, Gen. Tchiani makes a statement July 28, 2023, in Niamey, Niger.
Text by :RFI
The 62-year-old general is from Niger’s western region of Tillaberic, close to the border with Mali.
He studied at a military academy in Thiès in Senegal and carried out a number of training missions abroad before occupying posts in Niger including commander of the national gendarmerie.
He was decorated in 1989 for having secured the site of a crash near Bilma in northern Niger after a French flight crashed due to a suitcase bomb explosion. All 170 people on board died. Tchiani was the first officer on site.
A former military attaché at Niger’s embassy in Germany, he also served as head of a battalion in Agadez, once seen as the world’s smuggling capital, and often led military operations in the Niger desert against contraband and drug traffickers.
In 2011, Bazoum’s predecessor, president Mahamadou Issoufou, appointed him to lead the presidential guards – a special unit of around 2,000 soldiers.
Then in 2018, Tchiani was promoted to the rank of general.
In March 2021, he reportedly led the unit that blocked another attempted coup, when a military unit tried to seize the presidential palace a few days before Bazoum was due to be sworn in.
When Bazoum took office 2021, he kept the general as head of the presidential guards.
A few months ago, he was decorated by president Bazoum “for fully taking on all his responsibilities with a spirit of devotion, self-sacrifice, availability and loyalty,” reports RFI correspondent Serge Daniel.
'Too close' to Issoufou
Tchiani remains a close ally of Issoufou. He was linked to a 2015 coup attempt against the ex-president, but denied that in court.
According to Serge Daniel, Tchiani was not chosen unanimously to lead the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country (CNSP) as the new military government is calling itself.
“Some in the army some think he is too close to ex-president Mahamadou Issoufou,” said a witness to the first 48 hours of discussion following Bazoum's removal on Wednesday.Niger's president held at palace as African Union slams attempted coup
In a statement on state television on Friday, 28 July, Tchiani called on "the technical and financial partners and friends of Niger to understand the specific situation of our country and provide all necessary support to help it overcome the challenges it faces".
Reiterating that soldiers had seized power because of worsening security as the country battles a jihadist insurgency in the Sahel region, Tchiani said: "We cannot continue with the same approaches proposed so far, as it risks witnessing the gradual and inevitable disappearance of our nation."
Critics of Tchiani underline that if the country's security situation has indeed worsened, it has happened under his watch.
The 62-year-old general is from Niger’s western region of Tillaberic, close to the border with Mali.
He studied at a military academy in Thiès in Senegal and carried out a number of training missions abroad before occupying posts in Niger including commander of the national gendarmerie.
He was decorated in 1989 for having secured the site of a crash near Bilma in northern Niger after a French flight crashed due to a suitcase bomb explosion. All 170 people on board died. Tchiani was the first officer on site.
A former military attaché at Niger’s embassy in Germany, he also served as head of a battalion in Agadez, once seen as the world’s smuggling capital, and often led military operations in the Niger desert against contraband and drug traffickers.
In 2011, Bazoum’s predecessor, president Mahamadou Issoufou, appointed him to lead the presidential guards – a special unit of around 2,000 soldiers.
Then in 2018, Tchiani was promoted to the rank of general.
In March 2021, he reportedly led the unit that blocked another attempted coup, when a military unit tried to seize the presidential palace a few days before Bazoum was due to be sworn in.
When Bazoum took office 2021, he kept the general as head of the presidential guards.
A few months ago, he was decorated by president Bazoum “for fully taking on all his responsibilities with a spirit of devotion, self-sacrifice, availability and loyalty,” reports RFI correspondent Serge Daniel.
'Too close' to Issoufou
Tchiani remains a close ally of Issoufou. He was linked to a 2015 coup attempt against the ex-president, but denied that in court.
According to Serge Daniel, Tchiani was not chosen unanimously to lead the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country (CNSP) as the new military government is calling itself.
“Some in the army some think he is too close to ex-president Mahamadou Issoufou,” said a witness to the first 48 hours of discussion following Bazoum's removal on Wednesday.Niger's president held at palace as African Union slams attempted coup
In a statement on state television on Friday, 28 July, Tchiani called on "the technical and financial partners and friends of Niger to understand the specific situation of our country and provide all necessary support to help it overcome the challenges it faces".
Reiterating that soldiers had seized power because of worsening security as the country battles a jihadist insurgency in the Sahel region, Tchiani said: "We cannot continue with the same approaches proposed so far, as it risks witnessing the gradual and inevitable disappearance of our nation."
Critics of Tchiani underline that if the country's security situation has indeed worsened, it has happened under his watch.
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