What does it mean to be a soldier in Niger today? It means fighting jihadist groups under difficult conditions and at considerable personal risk.
At the same time, military personnel are expected to follow a strict military leadership which only came to power through a coup.
At the top of this junta sits General Abdourahamane Tiani, the erstwhile commander of the presidential guard prior to the military takeover in 2023.
Tiani ousted democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, with his junta largely justifying its rule by invoking the ongoing fight against jihadist violence in the country, which it claims the Bazoum administration had failed to sufficiently address.
But the failed uprising in Niamey puts that claim to the test amid growing frustration within the military over the unending battle against Islamist insurgencies.
