2021 Nigerien Coup D'état Attempt
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The 2021 Nigerien coup d'etat attempt occurred on 31 March at around 3 am
WAT A wat (, ; , ; , ; ; , ) is a type of Buddhist and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State (Myanmar), Yunnan (China), the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Etymology The word ''wat'' is borrowed from the Sanskrit ''v ...
(2 am
UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
) after gunfire erupted in the streets of
Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...
, the capital of
Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
, two days before the
inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...
of
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
-elect An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the U ...
Mohamed Bazoum Mohamed Bazoum (; born 1 January 1960) is a Nigerien politician who served as the 10th List of heads of state of Niger, president of Niger from 2021 to 2023. He assumed office in April 2021 after winning the 2020–21 Nigerien general election, ...
. The coup attempt was staged by elements within the
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
, and was attributed to an
Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
unit based in the area of the Niamey Airport. The alleged leader of the plot was Captain Sani Saley Gourouza, who was in charge of security at the unit's base. After the coup attempt was foiled, the perpetrators were arrested.


Context

The coup attempt took place while Niger was mired in the War in the Sahel, with marked terrorism and inter-ethnic violence. Sahel countries received France's help against terrorists via
Operation Barkhane Operation Barkhane (French language, French: ''Opération Barkhane'') was a counterinsurgency operation that started on 1 August 2014 and formally ended on 9 November 2022. It was led by the French military against Islamist groups in Africa's S ...
, with controversial actions. In 2020, a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
overthrew the government of
Malian President This is a list of heads of state of Mali since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day. A total of seven people have served as head of state of Mali (excluding three acting presidents). Additionally, two people, ...
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (; 29 January 1945 – 16 January 2022), often known by his initials IBK, was a Malian politician who served as the president of Mali from September 2013 to August 2020, when he was forced to resign in the 2020 Malian cou ...
. Niger successfully went through the
2020–21 Nigerien general election General elections were held in Niger on 27 December 2020 to elect the President and National Assembly.Mahamane Ousmane Mahamane Ousmane (born 20 January 1950), press release no. 179, is a Nigerien politician. Elected as the List of heads of state of Niger, fourth President of Niger at 43 years old, he is the youngest elected president in Africa. He was also the f ...
contested the election results and lodged a legal appeal with the constitutional court, which was rejected. On March 21, 2021, jihadist factions led a , where 137 villagers were killed.


Events

According to Cyril Payen of ''
France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb ...
'', "heavy weapon fire was heard for half an hour in the area of the
presidential palace A presidential palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. Some presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in former monarchies that were preserved during those states' transition into republics. ...
. But the Presidential Guard repelled this attack and the situation seems to have come under control", and the noise of the fighting woke up locals around 3am (local time). The majority of the perpetrators were arrested by the government but some, including the leader of the coup Sani Saley Gourouza, are still at large.


Reactions

Nigerian President
Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...
described the act as "naive and old-fashioned". The President of the African Union and the
Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as CEDEAO in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of twelve countries of West Africa. Collectively, the present and former members comprise an area ...
condemned the attempted coup, a sentiment which was also echoed by other African countries, including
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
and Algeria.


Aftermath

The democratic transition went as planned, the swearing-in of the new president
Mohamed Bazoum Mohamed Bazoum (; born 1 January 1960) is a Nigerien politician who served as the 10th List of heads of state of Niger, president of Niger from 2021 to 2023. He assumed office in April 2021 after winning the 2020–21 Nigerien general election, ...
occurring two days after the attempted coup. However, he was ousted in the
2023 Nigerien coup d'état On 26 July 2023, a coup d'état occurred in Niger when the country's presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum, and Presidential Guard commander General Abdourahamane Tchiani proclaimed himself the leader of a new military junta, shor ...
by members of the presidential guard and the military led by
Abdourahamane Tchiani Abdourahamane Tchiani (; born early 1960s) is a Nigerien military officer who has served as the 11th president of Niger since 2025 and the president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, the military junta of Niger, since 2 ...
, who ironically led the presidential guard in defeating the 2021 coup.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nigerien coup d'etat attempt, 2021 Coup d'etat attempt Nigerien coup d'état attempt, 2021 History of Niamey March 2021 in Africa
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...