7/31/23

By Aditi Jha

The democratically elected president of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, was overthrown in a coup last week by the presidential guards who stood outside his palace. Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani (alternatively spelled Tiani) is the current head of state. NBC News reported that a personal issue between Tchiani and Bazoum is what caused the coup. The military officers arrested 130 members of the president's party, including four officials from the cabinet. The US hasn't called it a coup yet, though France, Germany and the EU have. If the US formally acknowledges it as a coup, they will have to stop all economic and military support to Niger by law. The E.U. and France have stopped all of their economic aid and condemned the coup, with the French foreign ministry saying that France "does not recognize the authorities resulting from the putsch led by Gen Tchiani." and that France "reaffirmed in the strongest terms the clear demands of the international community calling for the immediate restoration of constitutional order and democratically-elected civilian government in Niger." Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday that the continuation of American assistance (which is around $400 million) is dependent on the release of Bazoum and a return to democracy. There is no deadline, however. A senior State Department official told reporters that "It's an attempted takeover. We don't think it's fully successful, and we think there's a narrow opportunity to reverse it." Niger is an incredibly important country. It was a symbol of democracy as neighboring countries Mali and Burkina Faso were taken over by military coups. It hosted French and US military bases and was described by the US state department as "important as a linchpin for stability in the Sahel" and a "reliable counter-terrorism partner" against several Islamist terrorist groups. Around 1,110 U.S. troops in Niger help the country fight Boko Haram, Islamic State militants and al-Qaeda. France has around 1,500 troops doing joint operations with Nigerian units. The Sahel is a region in Africa that includes Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Chad, Senegal, Eritrea and Sudan. It's currently in a perilous situation, with lots of terrorism and attacks occurring by many Islamist organizations. Some of the support that the military junta had when overthrowing the government was because people believed that the military officers would be more successful in dealing with the unrest and instability of the Sahel region. Climate change is also playing a part in the fragility of the Sahel; the Sahara Desert is expanding its deserts into the Sahel and temperatures are rising at an enormously quick rate. Even as other countries condemn the coup, the leader of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said it was a success. On a Telegram channel, he said that "What happened in Niger is nothing other than the struggle of the people of Niger with their colonizers." The Wagner mercenaries have been an active influence in Niger, with protesters and coup supporters often waving the Russian flag and President Bazoum lamenting the anti-government "disinformation campaigns" that Wagner led. The BBC says that "there is little doubt that Wagner, which has exploited mineral resources in other African countries to fund its operations, would like to do the same in Niger." Niger is a country that is very rich in uranium. 

That's the news for today! Stay safe!