Iran Press/ Africa: According to an announcement made on Friday on state-run television, Abdourahmane Tchiani also known as Omar Tchiani, the 62-year-old general 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.
He remains a close ally of former President Mahamadou Issoufou – the politician who led the country until 2021.
Tchiani led the resistance to a thwarted coup attempt in March 2021, when a military unit tried to seize the presidential palace days before Bazoum who had just been elected, was due to be sworn in.
The unit had detained Bazoum in the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey, provoking a flurry of condemnation from leaders within Africa and beyond.
Colonel Amadou Abdramane, the spokesperson of the Nigerien army, said on state TV on Wednesday that security forces had decided to “put an end to the regime that you know due to the deteriorating security situation and bad governance”.
Abdramane said Niger’s borders are closed, a nationwide curfew declared, and all institutions of the republic are suspended. The soldiers warned against any foreign intervention, adding that they will respect Bazoum’s well-being.
205
Read More:
