Niger: Ongoing coup raises security concerns

On Wednesday, 27 June, members of the Presidential Guard (PG) detained Niger’s pro-France President Mohamed Bazoum at his official residence. The first statement issued by the President Office following these events was that the army had not joined the PG’s mutiny and it would intervene to restore the order. Hours later, however, a group of ten senior military officers, calling themselves the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country (NCSC), delivered a message on national television, claiming to have removed President Bazoum from power. The leading figure of the putschist officers is air force Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane. The NCSC stated that Niger’s republican institutions have been suspended, borders have been closed and a nationwide curfew has been declared.

The coup comes in the context in which Niger declined to participate in the Russia-Africa Summit which is held on 27 and 28 July. Furthermore, the majority of Niger’s neighbours, Mali, Burkina Faso, Libya and Chad, already have troops of the Wagner Group inside their territories. Also worrying is that two of Niger’s Western neighbours, Mali and Burkina Faso, had similar pro-France governments at the beginning of the decade, but in the past three years, coups removed them and the military juntas which took power became increasingly dependent on Russia and the Wagner Group. Not least, just like its Western neighbours, Niger is confronting Islamist insurgents.

A deterioration of the security situation is expected in Niger. Confrontations between the putschist elements within the army and protesters loyal to the ousted President could lead to exchanges of fire on the streets of capital Niamey and other major cities. Islamist insurgent groups, mainly local elements of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, plus Boko Haram, are also expected to intensify their operations in the following period.