Tag: Niger
The shifting front of militant Islamist Violence in the Sahel
Militant Islamist violence in the Sahel continues to shift southward and westward, putting ever more pressure on population centers in Mali, Burkina Faso, and...
What France loses by closing its military bases in Africa
Senegalese president Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced on 31 December 2024 that all foreign military bases in his country would close by 2025. On the...
Decades of security cooperation under threat in Lake Chad Basin
Niger has suspended its participation in the Multinational Joint Task Force, and Chad has threatened to withdraw.
In March 1994, the Lake Chad Basin Commission...
West Africa could soon have a jihadist state – here’s why
The Sahel region of Africa, between the Sahara and the tropical savannahs to the south, has emerged as a significant base of groups that...
Terrorism is spreading in west Africa – foreign and regional collaboration...
The United States military has completed its withdrawal from Niger after 11 years of military cooperation with the west African country.
This follows a major...
Organized crime fuels terror in Sahel nations
The military juntas leading Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have pledged to confront the terrorist groups plaguing their countries. However, a recent United Nations...
Conflicts causing record level of forced displacement in Africa
The number of African refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers grew by 14 percent over the past year—to more than 45 million people.
The...
Chad’s break with France: why it happened and what it means...
For over six decades, Chad was a crucial ally to French and US forces in their counter-insurgency operations in the Sahel. But both lost...
Military rule is on the rise in Africa – nothing good...
In the last few years, there has been a spate of military coups in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Guinea. Military rule, long...
The AU takes aim at Africa’s new brand of mercenaries
The often shadowy nature of mercenary activity makes exact numbers difficult to verify, but there has certainly been a resurgence in Africa’s use of...
Terrorist attacks multiply in junta-led countries
The number of violent events involving extremist groups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger has nearly doubled since 2021.
That is according to a Reuters...
US military withdrawal from Niger completed
The US Department of Defence and Niger’s defence ministry have announced that the withdrawal of US forces and assets from Niger is complete, in...
US military is leaving Niger even less secure: why it didn’t...
The United States is winding down its military operations in Niger ahead of a mid-September deadline agreed with the country’s ruling military junta.
The landlocked...
Growing danger of terrorist jailbreaks in West Africa
The attack on the well-fortified Koutoukale prison in Niger’s Tillabéri Region on 11 July followed two failed attempts in 2016 and 2019. In this...
Russian flags waved during Nigeria protests: why it’s a cause for...
The #EndBadGovernance protest in Nigeria from 1 August to 10 August took a rather unexpected dimension when some protesters in Kano and Kaduna states,...
Russia has tightened its hold over the Sahel region – and...
Armed troops in Niger overthrew the government in July 2023, seizing power for themselves. The following months were rife with speculation that the military...
US military completes withdrawal from Air Base 201 in Niger
The United States military has completed the withdrawal of its forces and assets from Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger, in line with plans...
US military completes exit from Air Base 101 in Niger
The US Department of Defence and the Nigerien Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Niger have announced that the withdrawal of US...
Turkey sends Syrian mercenaries to Niger
A few kilometers from the border between Turkey and Syria, at Al-Muksourah base in the Tel Abyad countryside, Turkish military officers supervised a training...
US deeply concerned about growing terrorism in Africa and democratic backsliding
The United States is gravely concerned about the increase of terrorism in West Africa and the Sahel, as well as democratic backsliding, and urges...
US starts to exit Niger
The departure, last Friday (7 June), of a United States Air Force (USAF) C-17 Globemaster III from Niamey marked the start of US assets...
Terror deaths double in Niger
Last year terrorism surged in Niger, with double the terrorism-related fatalities compared to the previous year.
This is according to the latest Global Terrorism Index...
Italy-Niger relations hold steady amidst global tensions
Although relations with France and the USA are at an all-time low, the connection between Niamey and Rome remains strong.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani...
Niger has cut military ties with the US: why this is...
Niger – a landlocked country of 25 million people in one of the most unstable parts of the world – recently announced it was...
Exclusive: General Béhanzin on defence and security in West Africa and...
In an exclusive interview, General Francis Béhanzin, the former Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security at the Economic Community of West African States...
Ecowas: why withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso signals fresh...
On 27 January 2024, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their plan to withdraw from membership of the Economic Community of West African States...
Niger and Russia are forming military ties: 3 ways this could...
In July 2023, Niger’s military took over in a coup just two years after the country’s first transition to civilian power. The coup has...
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have a new defence alliance
On 16 September 2023 in Bamako, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger established the Alliance of Sahel States, a mutual defence pact. The agreement was...
Banditry on the border needs joint Nigeria-Niger efforts
Bandits have terrorised north-west Nigerians for about a decade, and attacks are rising. Rape and other sexual violence, abductions and killings are just some...
Africa’s three waves of coups
Generalising about the 100 coups in post-independence Africa is difficult, but common primary drivers can be discerned.
The toppling of King Farouk in 1952 by...
Africa can end its rash of military coups
Military coups were common in Africa during the Cold War, and now seem to be returning. Between January 2020 and August 2023, there were...
France’s decision to leave Niger was a bad move: three reasons...
After about two months of wrangling between France and the new military regime in Niger, President Emmanuel Macron finally decided, on 24 September, to...
Niger coup: Ecowas must do these 3 things to break the...
It’s been a month since military guards under the command of General Abdourahamane Tchiani ended 12 years of democratic governance in Niger. The situation...
Niger’s coup weakens regional fight against Boko Haram: four reasons why
Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum was detained and deposed on 26 July by his military guard under the command of General Abdourahamane Tchiani.
The unconstitutional change...
ECOWAS still working diplomatically for order in Niger
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will continue pursuing diplomatic initiatives toward restoration of constitutional order in Niger without compromising the option...
Niger: another symptom of Africa’s weak crisis-response capacity
Last month’s coup in Niger once again revealed Africa’s crisis of multilateralism. Political and security developments in Niger and other African countries confirm the...
Niger is a key player in the Sahel region – four...
The Niger coup – the fifth in the Sahel and sixth in the broader west Africa region in three years – has pushed the...
Civilian support for military coups is rising in parts of Africa:...
On the night of 13 January 1963, Togo’s President Sylvanus Olympio was shot dead by rebels in the first military coup staged in Africa....
Niger: Ecowas military intervention could trigger three bad outcomes
The threat of military force to end the coup in Niger has led to significant divisions in the region.
It has heightened tensions in Niger...
Military coups in Africa: here’s what determines a return to civilian...
Slightly more than two years after Niger’s first peaceful handover of power from one civilian president to another, the military seized power in July...
ECOWAS Standby Force activated after Niger coup
In the wake of the coup d’état in Niger, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is “immediately activating its Standby Force with...
Niger coup: why an Ecowas-led military intervention is unlikely
Hopes are fading for a quick resolution of Niger’s coup or the potential use of force by the Economic Community of West African States...
US military presence in Niger in question following coup
The United States has 1 100 personnel in Niger and their presence there has come into question following last month’s coup.
The US has a large...
What caused the coup in Niger? An expert outlines three driving...
At an emergency meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on 30 July, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) demanded the “immediate release and reinstatement”...
Egypt donates vehicles, howitzers and other hardware to Niger
Egypt has donated a large amount of military hardware to Niger’s military to help it combat jihadist terror groups operating in the region.
The consignment...
ISS: Is Niger’s counter-terrorism approach an exception in the Sahel?
On 10 February, Niger suffered one of its deadliest attacks when gunmen with suspected links to violent extremist groups ambushed a military convoy in...
Most travelled US Secretary of State Blinken heads to Ethiopia and...
By 31 January, the United States’ top foreign affairs diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, had clocked well over 68 389 kilometres (42 495...
More Osprea Mambas for Africa
Osprea Logistics is successfully delivering another 50 Mamba armoured vehicles to an African based customer, who will use them for peacekeeping missions.
United States-based Osprea...
Niger gets another C-130 Hercules from the United States
Niger has taken delivery of a third and final C-130 Hercules transport aircraft from the United States as it strengthens the aerial capabilities of...
US donates Vamtac armoured vehicles to Mali
The United States has donated two Vamtac armoured personnel carriers (APCs) to Mali under the US Antiterrorism Assistance Programme (ATA), which provides US government...
