Niger regains control of military base after coup attempt
Disgruntled soldiers who launched attack detained in capital
Niger regained control of a major military base in the capital Niamey after an attempted coup by disgruntled soldiers on Saturday threatened to overthrow the embattled regime of President Abdourahmane Tchiani.
Soldiers attacked the military base, known as Base 101, at the international airport early on Saturday. Witnesses told the FT that they seized drones at the base before moving on to the presidential palace and national broadcaster downtown.
Authorities have since retaken control of the base and other areas in Niamey, according to the Nigerian state media corporation RTN, which broadcast images of mutinous soldiers being detained. It is unclear how many soldiers have been arrested.
RTN reported that “hundreds of soldiers, adrift and without faith, law or stated objective” had held others captive at the base. Defence minister Salifou Modi said mutineers had fired on “sensitive sites” around the capital.
Both Italy and Russia have military contingents in Niamey. Russian ambassador Viktor Voropayev said Africa Corps, a Russian paramilitary force that is also present in Mali and Burkina Faso, had helped put down the mutiny.
He told Russian state news agency Tass that Nigerian forces had appealed to Russia for assistance, and that Nigerian high command had since visited Africa Corps’ base to thank its servicemen for their assistance. Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto said Italian forces were not involved.
Andrew Lebovich, a research fellow at the Clingendael Institute in the Netherlands, said the Russian intervention underscored the value of partnering with Africa Corps. The force helped stabilise the government in Mali after a major offensive by al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamists and ethnic Tuareg secessionists in April.
“This is part of the Russian appeal, and is part of why they are there. The Russians are demonstrating that they will provide the support to the government in place and help put down security threats,” said Lebovich.
But the coup points to the deep problems facing Niger.
Sources told the FT that the coup was staged mainly by young officers. There has been growing frustration within the ranks about battlefield losses in the fight against Islamic State and an al-Qaeda affiliate known as Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
The presidential guard rallied to the support of Tchiani, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Lebovich said multiple units appeared to have participated in the mutiny, including those from frontline areas in Dosso, Ouallam and Tillabéri.
“That could have an impact on the security situation,” Lebovich said, adding that a reduction in forces on the ground could give Islamist insurgents a freer rein to operate in those areas.
Yvan Guichaoua, an analyst at the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies, said the coup attempt would probably lead to greater distrust and purges within the ranks, as well as a growing dependence on Russia. It could also disrupt efforts to fend off threats from Islamists affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, which have been growing in strength in Niger.
Niger has been run by its military since Tchiani led a putsch in 2023 that overthrew the democratically elected government of Mohamed Bazoum, who has since been held under house arrest.
Tchiani promised to turn the tide against JNIM and Islamic State, but the situation on the battlefield has grown increasingly difficult. The complex that houses the international airport in Niamey and Base 101 has come under assault by Islamic State twice this year alone.
The coup attempt is the most serious threat to Tchiani and the military regime in Niamey since it overthrew Bazoum.
Mali and Burkina Faso, which are also run by military regimes, have faced a worsening situation in their fight against Islamist insurgents. They have formed, together with Niger, a bloc known as the Confederation of Sahelian States (AES).
The AES issued a statement late on Saturday, which said Niger had been the target of a “betrayal by a group of soldiers involved in a destabilisation plot” and that the attempted coup had been “contained and thwarted”.