Niger’s president vows democracy will prevail after mutinous soldiers detain him and declare a coup

Subject: International Relations

Section: Places in news

Context:

Niger’s mutinous soldiers have detained the President of Niger and the coup because of the West African country’s deteriorating security situation.

Details:

Capital: Niamey
President Mohamed Bazoum was elected in 2021 in Niger’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960.
The Economic Community of West African States sent Benin President Patrice Talon to lead mediation efforts.

Western influence on Niger:

Bazoum is a key ally in the West’s efforts to battle jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group in Africa’s Sahel region.
Russia and the West have been vying for influence in the fight against extremism in the region.
- The Wegner group is trying to spread their influence in Niger.
American, French and Italian troops train the country’s soldiers, while France also conducts joint operations.

Niger:

Niger is a landlocked country in West Africa.
It is a unitary state bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest.
It is the largest landlocked country in West Africa.
Over 80% of its land area lies in the Sahara.
The capital Niamey is located in Niger’s southwest corner.
Niger is the world’s seventh-largest producer of uranium in 2022.

About Wagner Group:

The Wagner Group also known as PMC Wagner is a Russian paramilitary organization.
Origin: The group is believed to have been founded in 2014 by a Russian veteran of the Chechen war who so admired Hitler he named the group after Richard Wagner, the führer’s favorite composer.
The skull is the symbol of the Wagner Group.
The organization first came to the world’s attention in 2014, fighting alongside Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
The organization has also been active across Africa in recent years — Libya, Sudan, Mozambique, Mali, Niger and the Central African Republic.
Today there are thought to be some 10,000 Wagner Group members.
The U.S. government has called Wagner a “proxy force” of Russia’s defense ministry.