"The coup in Niger has dashed the hopes which the one Sahelian country that has so far shown a degree of resilience to both insecurity and political instability, gave the region.

Niger joined the list of three other countries in the region who have experienced a coup over the last 3 years. As in the case of Mali and Burkina Faso, military officers have justified their action on the deterioration of the security situation and bad governance. But unlike Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea where younger officers took over, in Niger the coup resulted from a consensus among armed forces leadership, perhaps assuring a level of stability and continuity.

The coup also has dashed the hopes of collaboration between Sahelian countries and Western powers, especially France. These powers still offered a more robust response to jihadist insurrection and general insecurity if compared with the strategies to arm civilians in Burkina Faso or the responsibility given to Wagner in Mali. In both scenarios, more civilian deaths have been recorded in the last three years."
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