Niger's junta leader: Five things

29th Jul 2023 | Source: BBC

Gen Tchiani addressing the nation - little is publicly known about his personal life, education or military career

Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, also known by the alias Omar Tchiani, has been named the leader of the junta that took power in Niger on Wednesday, ousting democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.

Here are five things we know about him:

-Gen Tchiani, 62, has been at the helm of the presidential guard since 2011
-The 700-strong force was established by the ousted president’s predecessor Mahamadou Issoufou to guard against military takeovers
-He was linked a 2015 coup attempt against Mr Issoufou. A subsequent court case in 2018 cleared him of involvement
-He was promoted to the rank of general in 2018 by Mr Issoufou
-Before the military takeover, President Bazoum had planned on removing the general as part of changes he had been making to the security forces, Niger's private L'Enqueteur newspaper reports.