This is Popular Front, a podcast focused on the niche details of modern warfare and underreported conflict with me Jake Hanrahan.

Today we're speaking to Dr Alayinka Jala.

He's a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at, Beckett University.

He's going to be talking to us about the military coup in Niger.

He's going to tell us about the people behind the coup, the possibility that other African countries are going to launch military

intervention into Niger in response to the coup, and also about the West and Russia's

role in all of this.

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slash Popular Front for lots of extra stuff. Before we get into the current events, maybe just take us back to the day of the

coup, what happened, who is behind this? How did this all start? It all started on the 26th of July when the head of the presidential

God generatiani Abdullahi Abdullah Maniana, held the president of Nije, hostage and it was incommunicado for about two days. within this period nobody knew what was happening before they

eventually declared that the military have taken over the government.

So for context, the presidential guard is like a special unit within the military.

So they are largely independent, very well-armed and well-resourced

and equipped, and they are in charge of protecting the presidency and other vital installations within the country.

So it took a couple of, it took about two days before the military of Nijer also then put their weight behind the

coup because initially it was carried out by the head of the presidential card and that was how it all

started and up to now the president has not been restored.

And how much communication does the presidential

guide and the military have usually like before this coup? Obviously now they're

very much working together, but how hand in hand were they before all this?

...