NIGER | I am in Charge! says head of the Presidential Guards, Gen Abdourahmane Tchian

NAIMEY, Niger, July 28, 2023 -  I am in Charge! says head of the Presidential Guards, Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani who today declared that he is  the new leader of  the West African country of Niger. 

This, after a dramatic coup on Wednesday, which removed the democratically elected Mohamed Bazoum and placed him under house arrest.

Appearing on national television this morning, Tchiani  said he was leader of a transitional government in Niger, two days after his elite guard unit overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum.

He made the announcement on Friday on state-run television, saying he was the “president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland”.

The 62-year-old general explained that the military action was necessary to avoid “the gradual and inevitable demise” of the country. He said that while Bazoum had sought to convince people that “all is going well… the harsh reality (is) a pile of dead, displaced, humiliation and frustration”.

“The security approach today has not brought security to the country despite heavy sacrifices,” Tchiani said.

President Mohamed Bazoum is thought to be in good health, and still held under house arrest by his presidential guards.

He had been considered a key ally by Western nations in the fight against Islamist militants in the region.

According to Al Jazeera, Tchiani who was drafted to lead the elite unit in 2015, is from Niger’s western region of Tillaberi, a main recruitment area for the army. 

Gen Tchiani, 62,  is said to be  a close ally of former President Mahamadou Issoufou who promoted him to the rank of general in 2018. 

Issoufou led the country until 2021 when he was replaced by Bazoum in a democratic election, the first since independence in 1960.

Speaking in a televised address, Gen Tchiani said his junta took over because of several problems in Niger, including insecurity, economic woes and corruption, amongst other matters.

Niger's coup is the latest in a wave of takeovers that have hit the West African region in recent years, toppling governments in countries including Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.

It also comes as a big blow to the leadership of Ecowas. Just two weeks ago, the bloc's chairman, President Bola Tinubu, warned that terrorism and the emerging pattern of coups in West Africa had reached alarming levels and demanded urgent, concerted actions.

There are now concerns about which countries the new leader will align with. Niger's neighbours, Burkina Faso and Mali, have both pivoted towards Moscow since recent coups of their own.