World
Niger Pushed Out Western Forces. The Jihadist Threat Didn't Follow
Niger expelled French and American troops after its 2023 coup and turned to Russia for security instead. Three years on, militants have hit the capital's airport twice, an American missionary spent nine months in jihadist captivity, and two rival extremist networks are now coordinating across a stretch of West Africa larger than most countries. The junta's new security model is being tested — and so far, it isn't winning.
A Tactical Truce: How Nigeria and Niger Opened a New Military Front Against Jihadists
In a major geopolitical turn of events this July 2026, Nigeria’s defense ministry announced a new joint operational sector covering the volatile Nigeria-Benin-Niger border. Despite three years of diplomatic hostility between Abuja and Niamey’s military junta, the relentless advance of Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants from Burkina Faso has forced both nations into a pragmatic security alliance. Survival on the Sahelian frontier has officially overridden political division.