Posted on 07/26/2023 4:51:53 AM PDT by AdmSmith
Access to the residence and offices of Niger President Mohamed Bazoum was blocked off Wednesday by members of the elite Presidential Guard, a source close to Bazoum said, although the reason was unclear. Access to the residence and offices of Niger President Mohamed Bazoum was blocked off Wednesday by members of the elite Presidential Guard.
The landlocked West African state is one of the most unstable nations in the world, experiencing four coups since independence from France in 1960 as well as numerous other attempts on power.
The country is struggling with two jihadist campaigns -- one in the southwest, which swept in from neighbouring Mali in 2015, and the other in the southeast, involving jihadists based in northeastern Nigeria.
Niger It's the safe haven surrounded by jihadist radicals, Russian mercenaries and madcap dictators. Can it cling on?
Wagner has established itself in Niger's neighbouring states – in Libya, where it has secured oil assets, and in Mali, where its arrival at the invitation of the military regime led to the withdrawal of French, British and other Western forces.
There are reports that the company is also operating in Burkina Faso, another country French forces have recently left. The president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, has claimed that Burkina Faso’s army rulers are paying the mercenaries with rights to a gold mine.
“Wagner is certainly a very real presence in our region,” Mr Bazoum said during a visit to London. “They are in Libya, which continues to be volatile and from where we have had weapons going to the Islamists in other countries ever since the fall of [Muammar] Gaddafi.
“They are in Mali: has Wagner's presence in Mali led to any benefit for Mali? I would say not at all. We have certainly no intention of inviting them into our country. They create problems, [they] don't solve them. We know they have been engaged in disinformation campaigns against us.”
A fake social media post claimed that Mr Bazoum had faced a coup while visiting Mr Macron in Paris; another that the French had armed a group of jihadists who killed 17 members of Niger's armed forces at around the same time. Both of these posts have been traced to the Lakhta project, a troll farm financed by Mr Prigozhin, which has been sanctioned by the US since 2018.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/niger-wagner-group-russian-mercenaries-b2341942.html
Ten countries: Kazakhstan (41.1%), Australia (13.1%), Namibia (11.4%), Canada (8.2%), Uzbekistan (7.4%), Niger (6.3%), Russia (6.0%), China (3.4%), Ukraine (1.5%) and India (1.1%) accounted for over 99% of world production in 2020
https://www.oecd-nea.org/upload/docs/application/pdf/2023-04/7634_uranium_-_resources_production_and_demand_2022.pdf
p 78
https://twitter.com/EugeneDjoko/status/1684543862709051392
Lespiaut Anne-Fleur:
Several hundred people gathered in front of the National Assembly in Niamey to show their support for the putschists.
They demand the intervention of Russia and the departure of French troops in Niger.
https://twitter.com/annefleurjo/status/1684528864326713346
video
Lespiaut Anne-Fleur:
Tense situation at PNDS headquarters. Impossible to advance further as journalists. Several people burned vehicles. Thick black smoke filled the street. The police arrived as reinforcements.
https://twitter.com/annefleurjo/status/1684543326500839424
video
PNDS = the political party of the President
“It has always been a puzzle to me why Europeans did not colonize Africa first before the New World.”
Disease.
Before modern medicine a trip to the heart of Africa could prove fatal even without encountering any natives.
Commonwealth of International Security Officers (СОМБ) We provide army, police and gendarmerie training services in the Central African Republic
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s commentary on the situation in Niger, where yesterday the military came to power and removed President Mohamed Bazum from office, is circulating in the African media.
Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin notes that the removal of the pro-French president is “in fact, gaining independence” by the people of Niger. Prigozhin draws attention to the fact that the former colonizers deliberately destabilize the situation in African countries, supporting terrorists and illegal gangs there in order to prevent the further development of the former colonies. That is why Western peacekeeping missions are ineffective. Numerous confirmations of this are seen by the SOMB, for example, in the Central African Republic.
“This is the effectiveness of PMC Wagner - a thousand fighters of PMC Wagner are able to restore order and destroy terrorists, preventing them from harming the civilian population of states,” explains Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Yes.
Convenient also for the weaponisation of migrants. Russia used its allies in Syria to export thousands of migrants to Belarus to flood Poland in winter 2021/22. Now imagine that they start sponsoring a new wave of migration across the Mediterranean.
Who is Omar Tchiani, the suspected brain behind Niger coup?
The general has been in charge of the presidential guards since 2015 and was a close ally of former President Issoufou.
Tchiani is from Niger's western region of Tillaberi, a main recruitment area for the army.
He has been heading the presidential guards since 2015 and was a close ally of former President Mahamadou Issoufou – the politician who led the country until 2021.
Ironically, he led the unit that blocked an attempted coup in the country in March 2021, when a military unit tried to seize the presidential palace days before Bazoum who had just been elected, was due to be sworn in.
The motivations behind Tchiani spearheading the coup remain unclear but there were rumours that the deposed president wanted to dismiss him only a few days ago, Paul Melly, Niger expert at the London-based think tank Chatham House, told Al Jazeera.
There was also speculation that this may have been because of the general's age, who is 62, or suspected discontent among some elements of the army including within the presidential guards. Al Jazeera could not independently verify these speculations.
Another possible reason, Melly noted, is that Bazoum wanted “to mark himself out as his own man” from Issoufou’s presidency by changing the composition of the presidential guards, including replacing Tchiani.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/27/who-is-omar-tchiani-the-suspected-brain-behind-niger-coup
So the US’s solution is to double the amount of money going to Niger. Then, maybe they will like us....
Two days after Niger’s democratically elected President Mohammed Bazoum was detained and removed in a coup led by members of his presidential guard, it was still unclear as of Friday morning who was running the country and what mediation efforts were under way.
The soldiers have not announced a leader and President Mohamed Bazoum, elected in March 2021 in Niger’s first peaceful, democratic transition since independence from France in 1960, has not resigned.
On Thursday the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it has paused operations in Niger, where more than 370,000 people are internally displaced and more than four million rely on aid.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/28/power-impasse-continues-in-niger-48-hours-after-coup
General Abdourahamane Tchiani is the new leader of Niger following a military takeover, state television reported Friday, two days after the country’s president was detained by members of his own guard. Appearing on state television, the general said soldiers had seized power due to the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel country
The General has been in charge of security for many years, is he revolting against himself?
Niger 🇳🇪: 17.2
CAR 🇨🇫: 17.3
Bangladesh 🇧🇩: 18.8
Nepal 🇳🇵: 20.1
Nigeria 🇳🇬: 21.2
Cuba 🇨🇺: 21.3
India 🇮🇳: 21.4
Egypt 🇪🇬: 22
Vietnam 🇻🇳: 22.8
Iran 🇮🇷: 23.1
Brazil 🇧🇷: 23.9
Russia 🇷🇺: 24.4
Argentina 🇦🇷: 24.6
Turkey 🇹🇷: 24.8
Israel 🇮🇱: 25.1
China 🇨🇳: 25.4
USA 🇺🇸: 27.4
Mexico 🇲🇽: 27.5
South Africa 🇿🇦 : 28
Canada 🇨🇦: 29.1
Japan 🇯🇵: 29.4
Switzerland 🇨🇭: 30.4
UK 🇬🇧: 31.2
https://twitter.com/ceoworld/status/1685020280685502464
Thirty-one of the top 32 countries with the highest fertility rates are on the continent, with Niger in the first spot with a rate of 6.9 children per woman. All of the world's leaders in fertility rate are in Africa. Somalia (6.4), Chad (6.4), The Democratic Republic of the Congo (6.2), Mali (6.0), the Central African Republic (6.0), Angola (5.4), Nigeria (5.3), Burundi (5.2) and Benin (5.1) make up the top ten countries in terms of fertility rates.
https://guardian.ng/features/nigeria-ranks-8th-most-fertile-country-as-global-rate-drops-by-50/
The African Union has issued a 15-day ultimatum to the junta in Niger to reinstall the country’s democratically elected government just as the coup leaders met with senior civil servants to discuss how they would run the country and as the U.S. and the European Union threatened sanctions against the regime.
https://apnews.com/article/niger-au-coup-tchiani-bazoum-ecowas-2ad1d7e269a5f1c15e9b8b96d50fe3ee
The European Union allocated €503 million ($554 million) to improve governance, education and sustainable growth in Niger between 2021 and 2024, according to information on the website.
https://www.dw.com/en/eu-rejects-niger-coup-authorities-cuts-aid/a-66382869
The importance of external support for Niger’s development is demonstrated by the fact that about 45% of the government’s FY 2002 budget, including 80% of its capital budget, derives from donor resources. The most important donors in Niger are France, the European Union, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and various United Nations agencies (UNDP, UNICEF, FAO, World Food Program, and United Nations Population Fund). Other principal donors include the United States, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, and Saudi Arabia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger
Pro-coup sympathizers demand the intervention of Russia, the departure of France to Niger. Two demonstrators helped us leave the scene by passing us off as the Russian press. A scenario that recalls the situation in Bamako in Mali, then in Burkina Faso.
https://twitter.com/annefleurjo/status/1685589753612095488
video
Budget:
The median annual salary for a person in Niger is 3,984,100 XOF. Lowest annual salary is 1,027,600 XOF.
https://worldsalaries.com/average-salary-in-niger/
That is about $560 and $144/month
https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=XOF&To=USD
Perhaps $50 x 300 persons = $15k for a few days + cost of Russian flags etc. Others will participate for free, to see or be part of the action.
On Saturday evening, the junta issued a statement calling on the citizens of the capital to take to the streets from 7 am local time to protest against ECOWAS and show support for the new military leaders. This invitation contradicts the ban on demonstrations decreed by the Ministry of the Interior on Friday, reinforcing the suspicion that the measure was intended to prevent demonstrations in favor of the President.
Moscow is acting in Niger through a social - political movement financed with Russian funds: the Movimento62, known by the abbreviation M62, created in September 2022 and composed of various organizations of Nigerien civil society. Its leader is Abdoulaye Seydou. The Movement62 has as its main objectives the re-establishment of the sovereignty of Niger and the dignity of the Nigerien people through real economic, political and military independence. The M62 makes no secret of its affiliation with Russia. In each of its manifestations, Russian flags and signs with the words “I Love Putin” appear. The M62 is currently used by coup plotters to organize popular demonstrations in its support.
General Abdourahamane Tchiani (59) is not well known outside military circles. As Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, a researcher at the Anglo-Saxon think tank International Crisis Group explains, Tchiani (in command of the presidential guard) built his military career in the shadow of the power exercised by the national army. He is a staunch ally of former President Mahamadou Issoufou, Bazoum’s predecessor, who appointed him head of the presidential guards in 2011.
Deposed President Bazoum kept him in office after taking over from Issoufou, who served two terms, but relations between the two have deteriorated in recent months. Reliable sources told the International Crisis Group that the week before the coup, President Bazoum was considering replacing Tchiani as head of the presidential guard. Unfortunately the intention was made known to the General that he started avoiding official ceremonies and activities to prepare for the coup by securing the support of the army, elite troops and the air force. The investigations conducted by ICG would confirm that the coup d’état in Niger has its origins in the internal power struggle of the government and the armed forces and would not be the work of the French, Americans or Russians.
General Abdourahamane Tchiani is originally from Filingue, an arid area about 200 kilometers northwest of the capital Niamey. Filingue (large area, roughly the size of South Korea) is located in the volatile Tillaberi region which has been repeatedly attacked for nearly eight years by insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as jihadists from neighboring Nigeria: Boko Haram.
The new junta includes senior officials, including Salifou Mody, the former chief of staff of the armed forces fired by President Bazoum last April.
A support march organized by our compatriots has been underway since 9 a.m. at Place de Concertation de #Niamey . This show of force is unheard of in the capital for more than 10 years, no doubt testifying to how much they were gagged by the old power.
https://twitter.com/General_Tchiani/status/1685592315363012608
video
This demonstration was organized by M62, not the junta, and its leader, Abdoulaye Seydou, got 9 months prison term in April. https://weafrica24.com/2023/04/15/conviction-of-abdoulaye-seydou-in-niger-we-will-fight/
If Seydoy is released general Tchiani might have problems.
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