Africa’s Sahel reeling from successive coups

The Sahel region of West Africa, where Niger’s democratically-elected president is facing an attempted military takeover, has been rocked by a string of coups since 2020.

The political unrest has compounded the woes of a region plagued by a bloody jihadist insurgency.

Mali: Two coups in nine months

Mali, where Islamic extremists seized parts of the north in 2012 before advancing into neighbouring countries, has weathered three coups in the past decade, two of them within nine months of each other.+

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In August 2020, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was overthrown after months of street protests over his government’s failure to roll back the insurgents.

Army strongman Colonel Assimi Goita appointed a civilian as interim president but kicked him out in a second coup in 2021 and stepped into the top job himself.

Former colonial power France in 2022 withdrew its nine-year-old anti-jihadist mission in Mali after the junta brought in Russian paramilitaries.

The operatives are described by western nations as Wagner mercenaries, and human rights monitors have implicated them in atrocities.

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Goita has vowed to restore civilian rule after elections set for February 2024.

Burkina Faso: Two coups in eight months

Burkina Faso, where a longtime president was ousted in a popular revolt in 2014, saw off a first military takeover in 2015 within a week after the coup leaders failed to win popular support.

But a seemingly endless wave of jihadist attacks soured the Burkinabe on President Roch Marc Christian Kabore who was toppled by mutinous soldiers in January 2022.

Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba stepped into the fray but in September he too was sent packing by officers, who accused him of failing to defend the country from jihadists.

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Damiba’s successor was army captain Ibrahim Traore, who at 34 became the world’s youngest leader outside monarchy.

He was made interim president until elections, which are scheduled for July 2024. In January this year, he ordered out French forces.

Niger: Three attempted coups in two years

In Niger, President Mohamed Bazoum is one of the few elected or pro-western leaders remaining in the Sahel.

He is attempting to survive his third attempted coup since he came to power in April 2021.

Bazoum is being held by members of his presidential guard, who have announced that “all institutions” are being suspended, ordered the borders closed and imposed a curfew.

He has vowed to protect his country’s “hard-won” democratic gains.

Niger has been serving as the hub for France’s anti-jihadist operations in the Sahel since Paris fell out with Burkina Faso and Mali.