Wagner group leader applauds takeover as ‘a struggle of the people of Niger with their colonisers’
The general who headed Niger’s coup has declared himself the country’s new leader after deposing its Western-allied president, earning praise from Yevgeny Prighozin while raising concerns about Russia’s growing influence in the Sahel region.
General Abdourahmane Tchiani, who has headed the presidential guard since 2015, appeared briefly on television on Friday to state that he had seized control because of worsening security and economic conditions in the country.
“We can no longer continue with the same approaches proposed so far, at the risk of witnessing the gradual and inevitable demise of our country,” Gen Tchiani, also known as Omar Tchiani, said in the address.
“That is why we decided to intervene and take responsibility.”