Niger Coup: Six African Countries Currently Under Military Rule

In the years following independence, military coups were common in Africa, and there are worries that these trends are yet on the rise again. 

The coup in Niger, which was carried out by presidential guard soldiers, is just the most recent in a series of overthrows that have occurred recently in Africa.  

In a study by a US researcher, Jonathan Powell, he stated that the overall number of coup attempts in Africa remained remarkably consistent at an average of around four a year between 1960 and 2012

Several factors, such as modernisation, cultural pluralism, soldiers' greed and grievances, poor governance, corruption, autocracy, constrained economic growth, and low-income levels, have been cited as causes of coups in Africa. 

This article explores African countries that are currently under military rule amid the recent military takeover in the West African country of Niger. 

1. Mali (Since August 2020)

Assimi Goïta

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was overthrown in August 2020 by a group of Malian colonels under the command of Assimi Goita. 

The coup came after anti-government demonstrations over deteriorating security, contentious elections for the legislature, and corruption allegations.

The junta bowed to pressure from Mali's West African neighbours and agreed to hand over control to an interim administration led by civilians, tasked with guiding an 18-month transition to free and fair elections in February 2022.

However, the leaders of the coup fought with the acting president, retired Colonel Bah Ndaw, and staged another coup in May 2021. Goita, who had been acting vice president in the interim, was given the presidency.

After the military government in Mali proposed a two-year transition to democracy and released a new electoral law, ECOWAS partially lifted its sanctions against the country.

The country is scheduled to hold a presidential election in February 2024 to return to constitutional rule.

 

2. Chad (Since April 2021)

Mahamat Déby

After President Idriss Deby was killed in combat while visiting troops engaged in fighting rebels in the north, the army of Chad seized control in April 2021.

The president should have been the speaker of the parliament according to Chadian law. But to maintain stability, a military council intervened and called for the dissolution of the legislature.

General Mahamat Idriss Deby, Deby's son, was appointed interim president and given responsibility for leading an 18-month transition to elections.

The unconstitutional transfer of power led to riots in the capital N'Djamena that were put down by the military. 

 

3. Sudan (Since October 2021)

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan led the Sudanese military coup that resulted in the military taking over the country's government on October 25, 2021. 

The initial detentions involved at least five senior government officials.

Abdalla Hamdok, the civil prime minister, refused to express his support for the takeover and on October 25 called for popular resistance; on October 26, he was placed under house arrest.

There were reported internet outages. A state of emergency was declared, the Sovereignty Council was disbanded later that day, and many members of the Hamdok Cabinet and pro-government activists were detained.

According to the list of those detained as of 5 November 2021, those held in secret locations without access to their families or lawyers included "government ministers, members of political parties, lawyers, civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and protest leaders."

However, on April 15 2023, fighting between the rival factions of the Sudanese military government, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), began.

 

4. Guinea (Since September 2021)

Mamady Doumbouya

President Alpha Conde was overthrown in September 2021 by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, the commander of special forces. 

Conde had altered the constitution a year earlier to get around restrictions that would have prevented him from running for a third term, which had led to severe rioting.

As interim president, Doumbouya pledged to hold democratic elections within three years.

In addition to imposing sanctions on junta members and their family members, including the freezing of their bank accounts, ECOWAS rejected the timeline. 

Since then, the military regime has suggested beginning the 24-month transition in January 2023; however, opposition parties claim that the military regime has done little to put institutions and a plan in place to return to constitutional rule.

 

5. Burkina Faso (Since January 2022)

Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba

In January 2022, the army of Burkina Faso overthrew President Roch Kabore, accusing him of failing to stop the violence of Islamist militants.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, the leader of the coup, promised to restore security, but as attacks increased and military morale deteriorated, a second coup—led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, the current head of the junta—took place in September after a mutiny.

6. Niger (Since July 2023)

General Abdourahmane Tchiani ​​​​​​

In a coup d'état that took place in Niger on July 26, 2023, President Mohamed Bazoum was detained by the presidential guard, and the guard's commander, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, declared himself the head of a new military junta.

The nation's borders were shut, state institutions were suspended, and a curfew was imposed by the presidential guard forces.

Since gaining independence from France in 1960, Niger has experienced four military takeovers. 

There were several coup attempts in the interim, the most recent of which occurred in 2021, two days before the inauguration of President-elect Mohamed Bazoum, when military dissidents attempted to seize the presidential palace.

He was the first democratically elected president to succeed a similarly elected leader in the nation.