Explained | What led to the coup in Niger? Does it follow a wider pattern in the Sahel? Premium

The Hindu breaks down why a coup took place in West African country Niger, why military coups have risen in the Sahel region and why Niger was seen as the “only hope” for regional security

The story so far: Amping up pressure on Niger’s mutinous military junta on Saturday, July 29, the African Union demanded the country’s military “return to their barracks and restore constitutional authority” within 15 days. The European Union also announced the suspension of security and funding cooperation with Niger, declaring that the 27-country bloc would not recognise the putschists who have confined the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum to his official residence since Wednesday.

On Friday, leader of the coup General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the Presidential Guard since 2011, appeared on state television to declare himself the new leader of the troubled West African country. This is the seventh coup in western and central Africa since 2020, including two each witnessed by Niger’s neighbours Burkina Faso and Mali.

Niger is a vast, arid country in West Africa, twice the size of France. Having a population of about 25 million, the largely-agrarian country is one of the poorest in the world and has ranked low on the Human Development Index over the decades, vulnerable to the extreme weather effects of climate change which threatens food security. Niger, however, also has gold mining reserves and 5-7% of the global production of uranium.

Also read: Explained: The coups in West Africa and the regional response

It was a French colony until 1960, like many of its neighbours. It faced a long period of instability post-independence and was rocked by four military coups between 1974 and 2010. Like other countries in the wider Sahel region, the African region separating the Sahara Desert in the north from the tropics to the south, Niger has also faced the rise of Islamist extremist groups, armed local militias supported by stretched state security forces to counter the jihadist threat, and the resulting violence and displacement.

Mahamadou Issoufou came to power in 2011, winning legislative elections. Under his two-term presidental rule, Niger saw a semblance of political stability. In 2021, when Mr. Issoufou agreed to step down after completing his second term, the maximum number of successive terms allowed to a leader, his Cabinet Minister Mr. Bazoum was elected President, in the first democratic transfer of power since the country’s independence.

On Wednesday, July 26, the President, Mr. Bazoum, and his family were detained by elite troops in Niger, who declared that they now held power. While the President, who has not resigned, has since been confined to his official residence by the military, a group of soldiers appeared on national TV on Thursday, declaring that they had overthrown Niger’s government. Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane said “all institutions” in the country would be suspended, borders closed and a curfew imposed.