# Niger **Niger** was Washington's main security partner in the Sahel — home to the US drone base at Agadez and about 1,000 American troops — until General [[Abdourahamane Tiani]] seized power and detained elected President [[Mohamed Bazoum]] on July 26, 2023. Within a year the French and the Americans were gone and Russia's [[Africa Corps]] was at Niamey's airbase. Niger is also one of the world's major uranium producers, which makes its seizure of the French company Orano's mine, and the question of where that uranium goes, a strategic story rather than a local one. > [!note] Canonical country record > This page owns the bare name **Niger** (not Nigeria). Its partners are at [[Alliance of Sahel States]], [[Mali]] and [[Burkina Faso]]. ## Timeline | Date | Event | |---|---| | Jul 26, 2023 | Coup; Bazoum detained in the presidential palace, where he and his wife are still held | | Dec 2023 | French troops (~1,500) complete withdrawal | | Apr 2024 | Russian military instructors, an air-defence system and the first Africa Corps personnel arrive | | Aug–Sep 2024 | US withdraws from Air Base 201 (Agadez) and completes its exit by September 15 | | Aug 2024 | Niger cuts ties with Ukraine after Kyiv suggests it helped rebels at [[Battle of Tinzaouaten]] | | Jan 29, 2025 | Leaves ECOWAS with Mali and Burkina Faso | | Mar 26, 2025 | Tiani sworn in as president under a charter granting a renewable five-year transition; political parties dissolved | | Jun 2025 | Orano's 63.4% stake in the Somair uranium mine nationalized | | Late 2025 | A convoy of over 1,000 tonnes of yellowcake leaves the mine; Le Monde reports a Rosatom deal for it; buyer and destination remain officially unconfirmed, and a Paris prosecutor opens a theft probe | | Jan 1, 2026 | Full US entry ban | | Jan 29, 2026 | Islamic State attack on Niamey airport and Air Base 101 is repelled | | Mar 2026 | Bazoum's term would have ended; still detained without trial; European Parliament demands his release | | Jun 18, 2026 | Notifies the UN of its withdrawal from the [[International Criminal Court]], effective one year later | | Aug 28–29, 2026 | Mutiny at Air Base 101; Africa Corps provides ground and air support to loyal forces, and Algeria sends four Su-30 fighters | ## The August 2026 mutiny Soldiers at Air Base 101, inside Niamey's airport, opened fire on sensitive sites shortly after midnight on August 29, and fighting reached the presidential district before the revolt was put down after several hours. Russia's ambassador said Africa Corps had been asked to help and that the mutineers were "neutralized particularly thanks to" its intervention; Algeria's president later said his jets were sent to thwart a "coup attempt." The junta blamed "a vast network of collusion headed by the French regime of Macron" without evidence; France called it "pure fantasy." Reported grievances among the mutineers were frontline losses, rations and equipment. Tiani reappeared in public on September 4. ## Washington comes back In September 2026 the US International Development Finance Corporation approved up to $414 million in debt financing for Global Atomic's Dasa uranium project — US re-engagement with a junta that expelled American troops two years earlier, driven by the same minerals logic that runs through the [[Security-for-Minerals]] trade. ## See Also - [[Abdourahamane Tiani]] · [[Mohamed Bazoum]] · [[Alliance of Sahel States]] · [[Africa Corps]] · [[Uranium]] - [[Mali]] · [[Burkina Faso]] · [[France]] · [[Africa]] · [[Countries Hub]]