2023-08-07 18:11:31
On July 26, a group of members of the Nigerian Presidential Guard detained the then president Mohamed Bazoum in the Presidential Palace together with his family, they declared the end of his mandate and established a military meeting. Since then, the harsh clashes between the Army and the demonstrators and the support of the international community for the self-proclaimed military officer in command, General Abdourahmane Tchianithey have been tensing a antebellum situation It threatens to explode at any moment. These are three keys to understanding what is happening in this country of the Sahel:
1. Chronology of events
After the first coup campaign carried out by the members of the Presidential Guardthe first measure undertaken by the new Nigerien military leader, Abdourahmane ‘Omar’ Tchiani, was to proclaim himself leader of the new Military Junta and isolate the then president.
On that first day, the president Mohamed Bazoumin power since 2021, was held with his family in the Presidential palace and was allowed to communicate with the outside world, reaching the point of transmitting Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, who was “GOOD” but that the situation was “extremely complicated”.
The first demonstrations to demand the release of the president were dispersed by gunfire by the related military and shortly after an institutional suspension, curfew and closure of the country’s land and air borders were announced.
The next day, July 27, the Armed Forces declared their support for the coup and demonstrators supporting the new patriotic military junta took to the streets shouting anti-colonialist slogans against France and displaying Russian flags.
On the third day, July 28, General Tchiani made his first public appearance after meeting with the ministers of the previous government to ask for their support. In his speech, he justified his self-proclamation as head of the military junta because of “the permanent degradation of the security situation” and he assured the citizens that with his leadership “all of the above ends.” Along the same lines, he appealed to the international community not to intervene in his internal affairs. At the same time, ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) gave the military an ultimatum that expired on Monday to restore constitutional order under the threat of military action.
A week after the coup, Tchiani began to purge the General Staff of his armed forces of soldiers who were not sympathetic to the cause of the self-styled “patriotic safeguard” junta.
2.Who is Abdourahmane Tchiani
General Abdourahmane ‘Omar’ Tchiani has proclaimed himself the leader of the new military junta, but has played an important role in Niger’s political life since 2011, when he was appointed head of the country’s Presidential Guard. Tchiani, who was promoted to the rank of general in 2018 by the then president Mahamadou Issoufou, it is now the highest authority in the Sahel country.
The 62-year-old general is a native of the region of Tillaberi, in the west of the country, an area close to the border with Mali and was militarily formed in Senegal. Prior to his posting in the Nigerian president’s guard, he was a military attaché at his country’s embassy in Germany. After returning to the country, in 2015, he was linked to the attempted coup against former President Issoufou, of whom he was considered close but his involvement in the plot was later ruled out.
Recently, there has been speculation about a possible disagreement with the current president Bazoum. Media such as ‘The Economist’ have pointed out that, presumably, the president would have tried to relieve him at the head of the Presidential Guard and that this could have been the cause that would have led him to take up arms.
3. What is the role of Russia and the international community
The overthrow of Bazoum, who took office in 2021 in the first democratic transfer of power in the history of Niger, has unleashed an unprecedented crisis. The immediate concern is that it could trigger a country war. The uprising has received the joint condemnation of United Nations, the UE, USAECOWAS and the African Union, who have also stressed the possible increase in Russian influence now that power is held by a similar military. For their part, the leaders of West Africa will discuss the situation in Niger on Thursday at an “extraordinary summit” in Abuja, Nigeria to once again demand the restoration of constitutional order.
Analysts have warned that the political chaos could push back the fight against extremist groups launched by the previous president and increase the influence of Russia in the region. The scourge of jihadism continues to be a reality in the Sahel and annually claims hundreds of victims in the African countries that comprise it (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger). The Nigerian military uprising has been backed by the newly established governments of neighboring Sahel countries, also from violent way, in which Russia has a growing power to the detriment of French influence, which is increasingly viewed worse and more strongly rejected.
And it is that after two military coups that took place in neighboring countries in 2021 and 2022, the new boards in Bamako and Uagadugu have set their sights in the Russian direction after having forced the withdrawal of the european troops of his territory. In recent years, both governments have preferred to open their doors to Wagner’s Russian mercenaries to deal with insecurity than continue to rely on France or the United States.
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