Updated December 28, 2023
Niger
Military officers seized power in Niger in July 2023, part of
Figure 1. Niger at a Glance
a wave of coups in Africa since 2020. The junta, led by
former Presidential Guard commander General
Abdourahamane Tchiani, has detained elected president
Mohamed Bazoum and declined, to date, to issue a clear
roadmap for returning power to civilians. Leaders in the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
have imposed economic sanctions and threatened (though
not carried out) a military intervention to reverse the coup.
The Biden Administration has condemned the coup and
imposed restrictions on U.S. aid and security cooperation.
The military takeover in Niger deepens the challenges
facing U.S. policymakers in the Sahel, amid growing
insurgencies, political instability, and Russian engagement
in the region. Officials had previously characterized Niger
as an emerging democracy and important U.S. security and
development partner. Niger hosts the second-largest U.S.
military presence in Africa after Djibouti, with about 1,000
U.S. soldiers as of June 2023, mostly located at facilities in
the capital, Niamey, and the northern city of Agadez. U.S.
forces resumed intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance (ISR) operations in September after a

Source: CRS graphic. Data from CIA World Factbook, IMF.
temporary pause following the coup. About 650 U.S.
soldiers were in Niger as of December 2023, per a public
Niger assumed increasing importance as an anchor of
White House war powers report.
Western security cooperation in the Sahel over the past
While permitting U.S. military personnel to remain, the
decade, exhibiting relative stability as other governments
fell to military coups, and agreeing to host sizable U.S. and
junta has expelled French troops—ending U.S.-backed
European trop contingents. President Bazoum also was one
counterterrorism operations—and pursued closer ties to
of the few regional leaders to openly criticize Russia’s
Russia. In late 2023, the junta halted European Union (EU)
Wagner Group, which began operating in Mali in 2021. In
security and migration cooperation initiatives. These moves
2022, France increased its troop presence in Niger after
have leveraged (and stoked) local resentment of France, the
former colonial power and a key player in Niger’s
being forced to withdraw its military from Mali.
economically vital uranium mining sector. Niger’s military
Deposed President Bazoum, a former cabinet minister, was
authorities have established an alliance with fellow populist
elected in 2021, succeeding close ally Mahamadou Issoufou
juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso, which have likewise
in what many observers perceived as a managed transition.
expelled French troops and drawn closer to Russia.
Although observers generally deemed the elections
Context
credible, a prominent opposition figure was barred from
Landlocked and arid, Niger is one of the world’s poorest
running due to a criminal conviction that some viewed as
biased, and the losing candidate rejected the results as
countries. Coups and armed rebellions have marked its
fraudulent. Protests and rioting erupted after results were
history. The last coup was in 2010; authorities reported
coup attempts in 2021 and 2022. President Bazoum’s
released, and authorities claimed to foil a coup attempt.
Freedom House rated Niger as “Partly Free” under
inauguration in 2021 marked Niger’s first-ever transition
Bazoum, noting multiparty competition along with state
between two elected presidents. Insurgents affiliated with
“
Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) are active in border
persecution” and “co-option” of opposition leaders. The
State Department reported concerns about apparent
regions and in neighboring countries. Conflicts involving
harassment of civil society groups and journalists, and
these groups have displaced hundreds of thousands of
Nigeriens and caused military and civilian casualties. The
authorities restricted some civil liberties, including protests.
IS Sahel affiliate claimed a 2017 deadly ambush of U.S.
Prelude to the coup. The growing foreign troop presence,
soldiers in Niger, and several U.S. citizens have been
President Bazoum’s close ties to France, and Niger’s
kidnapped in Niger and held by terrorist groups. (All have
cooperation with the EU to counter migrant flows (from
since been freed.) Socioeconomic conditions deteriorated in
which some in Niger derive income) prompted local
the lead-up to the 2023 coup, due to factors such as security
backlash, including protests and rioting in 2021 and 2022.
threats, the global effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, and
Although security trends were relatively positive in 2023,
the COVID-19 pandemic.
some of Bazoum’s policies, including a reintegration
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Niger
program for Islamist insurgent defectors, reportedly spurred
The Economy and Humanitarian Conditions
discontent within the armed forces. Bazoum’s efforts to
While most Nigeriens are engaged in agriculture and/or
sideline Presidential Guard chief Tchiani and demotion of
livestock herding, the formal economy centers on uranium
military chief of staff Salifou Mody (now the junta’s
mining and oil production. Niger is a top uranium producer,
number two) notably backfired. Bazoum also reportedly
and the sector is of particular importance to France, which
engaged in a behind-the-scenes power struggle with
relies on uranium for electricity and nuclear defense. The
Issoufou over control of the ruling party and emergent oil
prominent role of a French state-controlled uranium firm,
revenues. Some observers allege that Issoufou, who had
Orano (ex-Areva) has drawn criticism from local activists,
elevated Tchiani and Mody within the armed forces, played
who also cite health and environmental concerns linked to
a role in the coup, which the former president has denied.
mining. Oil production began in the early 2010s, and is
Terrorist and Insurgent Threats and Responses
mostly used for domestic consumption. An export pipeline
to Benin is under construction, but regional sanctions have
Several U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations
caused delays in 2023. Niger also has coal and other
(FTOs) are active in parts of Niger, including the Mali-
minerals. China is the second top foreign investor after
based regional Al Qaeda affiliate, known as the Group for
France; state-owned PetroChina is a key player in the oil
the Support of Islam and Muslims (aka JNIM), and a rival
sector. Turkey has also been a prominent economic partner.
IS affiliate. Southeastern Niger is threatened by Nigerian-
led Boko Haram and its offshoot, IS-West Africa. U.S.
Limited arable land, high population growth, and regular
officials have characterized Sahel-based FTOs as
droughts and flooding—possibly worsened by climate
threatening U.S. interests and nationals within the region.
change—have fueled widespread food insecurity and
Southern Niger also faces spillover of criminal and
malnutrition. Other health issues include malaria and
communal violence from northwest Nigeria.
outbreaks of measles, meningitis, cholera, and polio. Child
marriage and adolescent motherhood are common; access
Over the past decade, Niger pursued military operations
to education is limited, especially for girls and in rural
against insurgents, conducted large military recruitment
areas. Conflict-related displacement has further strained
drives, and acquired defense materiel from Western donors
local communities and obstructed service delivery.
and other partners (including Russia, China, and Turkey). A
U.S. Relations, Military Presence, and Aid
defense procurement corruption scandal emerged under
former President Issoufou, with little apparent
The Biden Administration has condemned the July 2023
accountability. Niger participated in multiple donor-backed
coup, pressed the junta to release President Bazoum, and
regional security initiatives and in the U.N. peacekeeping
expressed support for ECOWAS’s efforts to “return Niger
operation in Mali (which is ending in late 2023). Nigerien
to a democratic path.” U.S. officials have not backed
ECOWAS’ threat
officials asserted that rising security needs limited the
of military intervention or sanctions,
availability of domestic resources for socioeconomic
which aid groups have decried as indiscriminate. U.S.
programs. With U.S. and other donor support, Bazoum’s
Ambassador Kathleen FitzGibbon presented her credentials
administration opened talks with some Islamist insurgents
to the military-led government in December 2023.
and offered to help defectors reintegrate into civilian life.
In October 2023, the State Department applied coup-related
Whether Niger’s counterinsurgency tactics will shift under
restrictions on certain aid to the government under §7008 of
military rule is in question. To date, unlike some of its
annual aid appropriations measures. Humanitarian and
neighbors, Niger has generally not armed ethnic militias or
democracy aid, among other areas, is exempt, while
civilian vigilantes, and allegations of security force abuses
Congress has authorized or appropriated certain other aid
“notwithstanding” such restrictions.
have been rarer than in some other countries in the region.
The Millennium
In 2020, however, human rights groups accused soldiers in
Challenge Corporation (MCC) has suspended a five-year,
Niger of forcibly disappearing nearly 200 people during an
$443 million development aid compact with Niger and
operation near the Mali border.
preparatory work on a second, regional compact with Niger
and Benin. The Administration has also terminated Niger’s
Russian Outreach
eligibility for trade benefits under the African Growth and
Russia’s Wagner Group has operated in Mali since 2021,
Opportunity Act (AGOA). The Defense Department has
and Russia has sought to expand its defense partnerships in
halted security cooperation while retaining a footprint in
the Sahel. (Since Wagner’s failed mutiny in Russia in mid-
Niger, including in support of ISR operations. The
2023 and the subsequent death of its founder, Russian
Administration has stated a desire to “resume security and
officials have signaled that Africa operations will continue
development cooperation in phases,” contingent on Niger’s
under more direct control from Moscow.) For the Sahel’s
progress in transitioning back to elected civilian rule.
military leaders, outreach to Russia appears to serve several
purposes, including as a rejection of France’s postcolonial
The United States allocated $92 million in bilateral aid for
influence, a populist bid for domestic legitimacy, and a
Niger in FY2022 (latest public data), with health and
means to seek foreign security support on new terms.
agriculture top areas of focus. The Administration requested
$107 million for Niger in FY2024. Security assistance,
In December 2023, Niger’s new military authorities
which was substantial prior to the coup, was largely
welcomed a delegation led by Russia’s Deputy Minister of
provided via regional and global programs.
Defense and pledged to strengthen bilateral defense
cooperation. In subsequent remarks to a U.S. audience,
Alexis Arieff, Specialist in African Affairs
Niger’s junta-appointed prime minister stated that Niger
IF12464
was open to working with any foreign powers to advance its
interests, citing both Russia and the United States.
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Niger


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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12464 · VERSION 2 · UPDATED

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