[Independent Media Institute] On July 26, 2023, Niger’s presidential guard moved against the sitting president–Mohamed Bazoum–and conducted a coup d’état. A brief contest among the various armed forces in the country ended with all the branches agreeing to the removal of Bazoum and the creation of a military junta led by Presidential Guard Commander General Abdourahamane “Omar” Tchiani. This is the fourth country in the Sahel region of Africa to have experienced a coup–the oth