Niger Military Reshuffles Top Command After Mutiny

New chief of staff appointed after failed mutiny tested military rulers’ grip on power.

Published On 13 Sep 202613 Sep 2026

Niger’s military junta has appointed a new armed forces commander, reshuffling its senior leadership in the wake of a failed mutiny late last month.

A government decree broadcast on state television on Friday named General Mamane Sani Kiaou, formerly the army’s chief of staff, as the new head of the armed forces, replacing General Moussa Salaou Barmou.

Both officers had served in senior roles since the July 2023 coup that installed a military junta led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani.

No reason was given for Barmou’s removal.

General Abdourahmane Abou Zataka has been promoted to fill Kiaou’s former position as army chief of staff, the decree added.

RFI reported that General Ismael K Sidi Omar was appointed as the new deputy chief of staff. Sidi Omar previously led Base 101, the airport base that was the mutiny’s focal point, and he stayed loyal to Tchiani during the unrest.

The mutiny, which erupted on August 28 and lasted roughly 24 hours, involved clashes at the presidential palace, Niamey’s international airport, and an adjacent military base.

According to Niger’s Ministry of Defence, many of the mutineers—mostly young soldiers—took fellow servicemen hostage and fired on several key sites.

Government forces required assistance from Russia’s Africa Corps, a state‑backed organization that has supplanted the Wagner Group in several African nations, providing both ground and air support.

Dozens of mutineers were killed or captured, as were three presidential guard members; however, the government has not released a total death count or indicated what charges the detained soldiers may face.

Analysts and diplomats told the Associated Press that the mutineers were motivated by frustration over rising attacks by armed groups and deteriorating conditions inside the military.

Kiaou, a field commander, has directed operations against armed groups in Niger’s western Tillaberi and southeastern Diffa regions and helped broker the withdrawal of French and U.S. troops following the coup.

State media reported that he recently toured the country’s principal garrisons in an effort to restore unit cohesion.

In July 2023, Tchiani’s junta overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who remains detained, citing the civilian administration’s inability to curb armed groups and violence.

Since the takeover, Niger has severed military ties with France and the United States and moved closer to Russia, despite an ongoing decline in security.

Niger has alleged that France orchestrated last month’s mutiny, a claim the French government dismissed as “pure fantasy.”

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