General Abdourahamane Tiani, Niger’s presidential guard chief, has named himself as the new leader of the country after leading a coup against President Mohamed Bazoum, which resulted in his detention. In an address, General Abdourahamane also sought people’s support into leading the country.
“The current security approach has not made it possible to secure our country despite the heavy sacrifices made by Nigeriens and the appreciated support from our external partners,” stated Tiani in his statement while denouncing the poor and corrupted government.
The coup started on Wednesday when the military powers blocked the entrance to the presidential palace and also closed down the access to several ministries.
Tiani added that Niger would continue to respect the international relationships and urged the world leaders to support the country’s development and warned anyone against attempting to intervene.
Since the past two years, military junta have taken over neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali, and both countries have broken ties with their ex-colonial power France, which has led the fight against terrorism in the region. The countries have developed close relations with Russia.
The Kremlin-linked Wagner Group was recently deployed to Mali, which kicked out around 13,000 United Nations peacekeeping force that has been in the country for a decade.