General Abdourahmane Tchiani has declared himself the leader of Niger after staging a coup on Wednesday that eventually deposed President Mohamed Bazoum. Tchiani led a group of presidential guards, who turned on Bazoum and helped Tchiani seize power. Bazoum is believed to be in good health and still held captive by those guards, BBC reported. Tchiani’s coup was condemned by the EU, the UN, the African Union and the West African regional bloc. But it’s earned praise from Yevgeny Prigozhin—the leader of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group. France has already come out to vocally condemn the ordeal, indicating that it won’t recognize Tchiani as the head of Niger. This week’s coup was the fifth since Niger gained its independence from France in 1960.
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