Tragic coup in Niger

Primary partner: French President Emmanuel Macron (right) welcoming Bazoum for a meeting at the Elysee Palace in June, before the coup. — AFP

NIGER’S coup last month was the eighth military takeover in Africa since 2020. Most occurred in West African states, which have faced rising extremist violence for years. Niger was among them.

Affiliates and offshoots of both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group found fertile ground in impoverished and neglected communities in Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. They’ve been met by armies supplied and strengthened by Western powers hoping to stem the tide of terrorism in the region.