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Russia has taken credit for helping thwart an attempted coup in Niger after mutinous soldiers seized a military air base in the capital over the weekend and then hit the presidential palace and the state broadcaster.
Getting into it: This all started on Saturday around 1 a.m. at Base 101, inside the Diori Hamani International Airport complex in Niamey. Defense Minister Gen. Salifou Mody said the rebelling soldiers rounded up other troops at a barracks in Niamey and turned their guns on “certain sensitive sites” in the capital. Witnesses told the Financial Times that drones took off from the base, and the fighting then spread downtown to the presidential palace and Tele Sahel (state broadcaster), which went off the air for about an hour.
“There was an attempt by insurgents from the armed forces to enter the presidential palace,” a security source told AFP, adding they “were pushed back by the presidential guard.” Russian forces backed the presidential guard in retaking Base 101, according to diplomatic and security sources, who said some of the mutineers were killed in the process. Russian Ambassador Viktor Voropayev told TASS that Nigerien forces requested assistance from Africa Corps, the Kremlin-run paramilitary that absorbed Wagner’s African operations and keeps its Niamey headquarters at Base 101. Voropayev said Niger’s high command later visited the base to thank them.
Moscow’s foreign ministry confirmed Sunday that Nigerien forces repelled the attack “with the assistance of servicemen of the African Corps of the Russian Ministry of Defense” and said the situation was under the control of legitimate authorities. Italy also has forces at the base, and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said they were not involved. Nigerien state television aired footage of detained mutineers. Dozens were reported killed or arrested, though the government has given no numbers.
The question of who did it points to the deeper problem. Sources told the FT the mutiny was led by young officers. Reuters, citing analysts and security officials, put soldiers from Ouallam, Tera, and Dosso in the mix. Those southwestern units have been hit hard in the fight against the regional Islamic State affiliate. Andrew Lebovich of the Clingendael Institute said troops from Tillabéri appeared to be involved too.
The unrest comes as Niger has been under the control of Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani since he launched a coup in July 2023 that toppled elected president Mohamed Bazoum, who remains under house arrest. Tchiani said he would get the jihadist insurgency under control, threw out French and American forces, and turned to Russia instead. Three years on, the attacks have not stopped, and frustration has been growing across the country.
