Latest news with #AbdourahamaneTchiani
Russia Today
4 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
African state accuses Western powers of destabilization campaign
Niger's interim president, Abdourahamane Tchiani, has accused Western powers, particularly France, of fueling terrorist violence in the African country in an attempt to impose a 'new model of governance' against the will of the Nigerien people. In an interview with state broadcaster RTN over the weekend, General Tchiani claimed that 'several plots' have been launched against Niger from neighboring countries, including Nigeria and Benin, with the backing of Western governments expelled after the July 2023 military takeover. He said Western-backed operatives have held meetings in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin to coordinate efforts, including smuggling weapons to terrorist groups. 'France has used several means to destabilize us… France has also infiltrated all the movements that were initially called independentist movements, then, the jihadist movement, and finally, terrorist movements,' he stated. He said Paris has established 'French cells' in the region, one led by Jean-Marie Bockel, President Emmanuel Macron's personal envoy for Africa, tasked with countering 'Sahelian influence.' According to Tchiani, the so-called 'Sahel cell of the Elysee' is mobilizing the French secret service (DGSE), diplomats, and the Francophonie agency, backed by 'unlimited funds,' to carry out all 'subversive operations' aimed at destabilizing the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). 'This Sahel cell will also have a mission to do everything by all means to demonize the relations between the states of the [AES] and the Federation of Russia,' he added. The Nigerien leader made similar accusations in December, alleging that France was funding militants operating in Nigeria's Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi states, as well as in Benin, to undermine Niger's sovereignty. He accused former Nigerian intelligence chief Ahmed Abubakar Rufai of supporting the groups with training and equipment. In January, Nigerien Interior Minister Mohamed Toumba also accused France of using 'Trojan horses' to weaken the military government in Niamey. Toumba warned of subversive tactics and claimed French military cooperation had left the country in 'desolation.' The accusations come amid heightened regional tensions and a wave of anti-French sentiment across the Sahel, which has been devastated by more than a decade of deadly jihadist insurgency. Niger, along with its AES allies – Mali and Burkina Faso – has cut ties with Paris and expelled French troops, accusing the former colonial power of prolonging instability under the pretense of counterterrorism. On Saturday, Tchiani claimed that Nigeria is providing logistical support to French troops expelled from Niger. Abuja has previously denied the allegations. Russia, which Niamey, Bamako, and Ouagadougou have turned to for security cooperation in recent months, has echoed similar claims that certain Western states are attempting to undermine the troubled Sahel region. Last week, Russian Foreign Ministry official Tatyana Dovgalenko accused Ukraine of funneling Western-supplied weapons to militants operating across Africa and training terrorist networks in the Sahel as part of 'systematic efforts to destabilize the continent.'
Russia Today
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Niger drops French as official language
Niger's transitional government has declared Hausa the national language, demoting French to a 'working language'. The move is set out in a new charter recently adopted by the West African nation. Although Hausa is the most widely spoken language in Niger, French had been the official language since the country's independence from France in 1960. The new leadership in Niamey – which took power following a coup that deposed civilian President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023 – has sought to cut ties with Paris. Late last month, the Sahel state adopted the Charter of Refoundation, which the government says will be executed as state law. The country's November 2010 Constitution was suspended after the July 26 coup. 'The national language is Hausa… and the working languages are English and French,' Article 12 of the charter reads, published in Niger's official journal, AFP reported on Tuesday. READ MORE: African state quits French union According to the document, nine other languages, including Zarma-Songhay, Fulfulde (Peul), Kanuri, Gourmantche, and Arabic, have been designated 'spoken languages' of Niger. The transition charter, which first emerged from a national conference held in February, also extended the term of Niger's interim president, Abdourahamane Tchiani, for five years. READ MORE: Adieu: Africa's military breakup with France is official Niger and its allies Burkina Faso and Mali withdrew from the global French-speaking group, the International Organization of Francophone Nations (OIF), in March. The three countries – founders of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) – accused the OIF of deviating from its mission of promoting cultural and technical cooperation and becoming a biased tool for political manipulation. The AES also criticized the Paris-based organization for disregarding the sovereignty of its countries through the selective application of sanctions. The group suspended Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger following military coups in the three former French colonies, which were among the first members of the OIF when it was founded in Niamey on March 20, 1970. Relations between Bamako, Niamey, and Ouagadougou and Paris have deteriorated in the aftermath of the military takeovers. The three military governments have all terminated defense cooperation with Paris over allegations of meddling and the failure by French forces to put down a deadly jihadist insurgency in the Sahel region.
BBC News
26-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Niger coup leader Abdourahamane Tchiani sworn in as president for five years
Niger's military ruler has been sworn in as the country's president for a transitional period of five Abdourahamane Tchiani has led the country since 2023, after he deposed Niger's elected President, Mohamed Wednesday, Gen Tchiani took the presidential office under a new charter that replaces the West African country's constitution. He was also promoted to the country's highest military rank of army general, and signed a decree ordering that all political parties be dissolved. During a ceremony in the capital, Niamey, Gen Tchiani said of his new military rank: "I receive this distinction with great humility... I will strive to live up to the trust placed in me."The transition to democratic rule is in line with recommendations that a commission made following national five-year time period is "flexible" depending on the country's security status, the new charter says. Niger has been plagued by jihadist attacks for many years - one of the issues junta leaders cited when staging their military takeover followed a string of others in the region - neighbouring Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso are also run by four countries have severed ties with former colonial power France and forged new alliances with Russia. And all except Guinea, have pulled out of Ecowas, the West African regional relations with Ecowas broke down when the junta proposed a three-year transition period to democratic rule straight after the called this plan a "provocation" and threatened to intervene with the use of force, before later backing down. Gen Tchiani's administration is prosecuting former President Bazoum on allegations of committing high treason and undermining national is still being held in the presidential palace with his wife, while his son was granted a provisional release last to state-run news agency ANP, Gen Tchiani said that Niger's new charter was in line with traditional constitutions but also takes "unprecedented measures to protect our natural resources so that Nigeriens truly benefit from the exploitation of their wealth". Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Los Angeles Times
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Niger's junta leader cements his grip on power as he is sworn in as president
NIAMEY, Niger — Niger's junta leader, Abdourahamane Tchiani, was sworn in Wednesday as the country's president for a transition period of five years under a new charter that replaces the West African nation's constitution. Tchiani, an army veteran, was also elevated to the country's highest military rank of army general and signed a decree dissolving all political parties, cementing his grip on power since June 2023 when he led soldiers in a coup that deposed the country's elected government. The move defied attempts by the regional bloc to quicken the return to democracy after a 2023 coup. The five-year 'flexible' transition period begins on Wednesday, according to Mahamane Roufai, the secretary general of the government. He was speaking at a ceremony in the capital, Niamey, where the new transition charter recommended by a recent national conference was approved. The new president would have been in power for about seven years by the end of the transition period in 2030, following similar patterns of prolonged stints in power in Africa's junta-led countries, including Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso. The transition charter also sets out a referendum as one of the conditions for setting up foreign military bases in Niger. However, it noted that the president may authorize it through a decree in the event of an emergency. Niger currently has a military partnership with Russia, its new ally after kicking out U.S. and French soldiers — both longstanding partners. Niger's junta had initially proposed a three-year transition period right after the coup, but that was rejected by West Africa's regional bloc known as ECOWAS, which called it a provocation and threatened to intervene with the use of force. Since then Niger has left the bloc alongside Mali and Burkina Faso, in protest of harsh sanctions which the bloc announced to force a return to democracy in Niger. Critics say Niger's junta has clamped down on civil rights and struggled to end the jihadi violence that the military said inspired them to take power. Ulf Laessing, the Sahel program director at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation think tank, said the five-year transition would be advantageous to Russia, which was among the first to recognize and work with the new Niger government. 'The prolonged transition would strengthen the Sahel alliance with Mali and Burkina Faso and would ultimately help Russia to expand in the region,' he said. Mamane writes for the Associated Press.
Al-Ahram Weekly
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Niger military ruler sworn in as president for a 5-year transition period under new law - Africa
Niger's military ruler, Abdourahamane Tchiani, was on Wednesday sworn in as the country's president for a transition period of five years under a new charter that replaces the West African nation's constitution. The move effectively rebuffed attempts by the regional bloc to quicken the return to democracy after a 2023 coup. The five-year 'flexible' transition period begins on Wednesday, according to Mahamane Roufai, the secretary general of the government. He was speaking at a ceremony in the capital Niamey where the new transition charter recommended by a recent national conference was approved. Tchiani, an army veteran, was also elevated to the country's highest military rank of army general, cementing his grip on power since June 2023 when he led soldiers that deposed the country's elected government. The new president would have been in power for about seven years by the end of the transition period in 2030, following similar patterns of prolonged stints in power in Africa's junta-led countries, including Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso. Niger's junta had initially proposed a three-year transition period right after the coup, but that was rejected by West Africa's regional bloc known as ECOWAS, which called it a provocation and threatened to intervene with the use of force. Since then Niger has left the bloc alongside Mali and Burkina Faso, in protest of harsh sanctions which the bloc announced to force a return to democracy in Niger. Critics say Niger's junta has clamped down on civil rights and struggled to end the jihadi violence that the military said inspired them to take power. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
