Nigerien Armed Forces
The national armed forces of Niger — the institution that took power in 2023, expelled two Western partners, and in August 2026 fought a mutiny drawn from its own western garrisons.
Broad area of activity
Nationwide, with the war concentrated in the west — Tillabéri and Tahoua, the Liptako borderlands shared with Mali and Burkina Faso. Base 101, at Niamey's international airport, hosts both the Russian Africa Corps and the AES joint command.
Notable history
The presidential guard deposed President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023 and the officer corps has governed since, through the CNSP. In 2024 the authorities expelled both Western security partners: American forces left Air Base 101 on 7 July and Air Base 201 at Agadez on 5 August, completing withdrawal on 15 September, having handed over a facility built for about US$110 million. Russian trainers had arrived at Air Base 101 in May 2024, while US personnel were still there. The war in the west has been costly. Tillabéri recorded the highest number of civilian fatalities from attacks of any area in the central Sahel in 2025, and the reported perpetrator ranking places the Nigerien military second, between Islamic State Sahel and JNIM — a claim recorded as the finding of the conflict-data analysts who produced it. On 29–30 August 2026 mutinous soldiers, reportedly including troops from Ouallam, Téra and Dosso, attacked the airport, the presidential palace, the state broadcaster and Base 101 before government forces retook the base.
Strengths
Political primacy; a security partnership that carries no governance conditions; and, at Base 101, co-location with both its external partner and the confederation's joint command.
Limitations
Sustained casualties in the western theatre, which is where the August 2026 mutineers were reportedly drawn from — the clearest available indication that battlefield losses have become an internal political problem. The loss of the surveillance and strike capability that departed with the American drone operation has not been publicly replaced. And the country's principal import corridor has been closed since 2023, which constrains everything the force depends on.
Related organisations
- Africa Corps — Niger role Cooperated with · as of 2026-01 · high confidence
Joint action against the January 2026 attack on Niamey airport, stated publicly by Russia's Foreign Ministry and acknowledged by Niger's head of state in person.
Related locations
Niamey: Seat of the CNSP and of Base 101, retaken from mutineers in August 2026. Tillabéri region: The principal theatre in the west, and the area from which units involved in the August 2026 mutiny were reportedly drawn.
Campaigns
Campaigns naming this organisation as a participant. The campaign record owns the relationship and grades it; this list is computed.
- Pressure in Tillabéri Reported participant · Documented pattern since 2025 · moderate confidence · as of 2026-08
Recorded as a participant in the violence, not only as a defending force: conflict-data analysis ranks the Nigerien military second among perpetrators of civilian killings in this region for 2025. The ranking is that analysis's finding and is carried with its attribution.
Key events
Mutinous soldiers attack Niamey, and what it shows is unresolved
Mutinous soldiers attacked the Diori Hamani International Airport, the presidential palace, the state broadcaster and Base 101 — the air force base that hosts both the Russian Africa Corps and the AES joint command. State media described hundreds of disaffected soldiers; reporting indicates the mutineers included troops from Niamey and from Ouallam, Téra and Dosso, localities where the army has sustained heavy casualties. Government forces retook Base 101, General Salifou Modi said on state television that the situation was under control, and dozens of soldiers were shown paraded afterwards. Casualty and arrest figures have not been established. Algeria issued a statement of solidarity.
Assessed as of2026-08Last reviewed2026-08-30