Yet another African country is in the news for a military coup. This time, it’s the West African country of Niger. On July 29th, General Tchiani declared himself the leader of Niger after instigating a military coup against the president, Mohammed Bazoum. The 2021 presidential election witnessed Niger’s first peaceful democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960. This is the fifth coup in Niger since then.
Gen. Tchiani has been the head of the presidential guard since 2011, which means he was responsible for protecting the president from a military takeover such as this.
What sparked the coup? How did the neighbours react? How did the international countries react? What are the likely consequences?
