Major Aichatou Ousmane Issaka, deputy director of social work at the military hospital in Niamey, is one of the first military women in Niger. In 2016, she received the United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for her service in Gao, Mali, with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, MINUSMA, during 2014–2015. She served as a captain in the civilian-military cooperation cell, training fellow officers and reaching out to local women, in accordance with the principles of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) to increase the participation of women and to integrate gender perspectives in peacekeeping efforts. Issaka also accompanied otherwise all-male patrols, making them more accessible to women and children. She was the first recipient of this award. [1] [2] [3]
On March 29, 2017, Issaka received the International Women of Courage Award for her peacekeeping contributions in Niger and Mali from the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, and Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Thomas A. Shannon. [4] [5] [6]
The Niger Armed Forces includes military armed force service branches, paramilitary services branches and the National Police of Niger. The Army, Air Force and the National Gendarmerie are under the Ministry of Defense whereas the National Guard and the National Police fall under the command of the Ministry of Interior. With the exception of the National Police, all military and paramilitary forces are trained in military fashion. The President of Niger is the supreme commander of the entire armed forces. The National Assembly of Niger passed a statute for the Army of Niger on November 2020, planning for the army's size to increase from 25,000 personnel in 2020, to 50,000 in 2025 and finally 100,000 in 2030.
Hans-Peter Bartels is a German politician of the SPD who served as member of the Bundestag for Kiel. From 2015 until 2020, he was the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces.
Aïchatou Mindaoudou Souleymane is a Nigerien diplomat and politician who served as the United Nations' Special Representative for Côte d'Ivoire and Head of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) from 2013 to 2017. Previously she was Deputy Joint Special Representative (Political) in the African Union–United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) from 2011 to 2013.
The Gendarmerie Nationale is the national gendarmerie of Niger. The Gendarmerie Nationale are under the Niger Armed Forces and report to the Ministry of Defense. They are responsible for law enforcement in rural areas. Niger's civilian police force, the National Police, is a separate agency under the Ministry of Interior, Public Safety and Decentralization, and are responsible for policing in urban areas.
The Bangladesh Armed Forces and the Bangladesh Police have been actively involved in a number of United Nations Peace Support Operations (UNPSO) since 1988. Currently Bangladesh is the largest contributor in the UN peacekeeping missions.
The Cross for Military Valour is a military decoration of France. It recognizes an individual bestowed a Mention in Dispatches earned for showing valour in presence of an enemy, in theatres of operations which are not subject to the award of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures. The Cross for Military Valour is usually awarded for security or peacekeeping operations, always outside the French territory.
The 1996 Nigerien coup d'état was a military coup d'état which occurred on 27 January 1996 in Niamey, Niger. It ousted Niger's first democratically elected president, Mahamane Ousmane after nearly three years in power and installed General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara as head of state. Prime Minister Hama Amadou was arrested in the coup and several soldiers and presidential guards were killed in the fighting.
The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have shown leadership, courage, resourcefulness, and willingness to sacrifice for others, especially in promoting women's rights.
Niger competedwith six athletes in five sports at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, held from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's eleventh appearance at the Olympics, having competed at every Summer Olympics since 1964 with the exception of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the African and the United States boycotts.
Prostitution in Mali is legal, but third party activities such as procuring are illegal. Prostitution is common in Malian cities. UNAIDS estimate there to be 35,900 prostitutes in the country. Prostitution is on the rise, many having turned to prostitution because of poverty.
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali was a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali. MINUSMA was established on 25 April 2013 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2100 to stabilise the country after the Tuareg rebellion of 2012, and was terminated over a decade later on 30 June 2023. Officially deployed on 1 July 2013, MINUSMA was the UN's second-most dangerous peacekeeping mission after Lebanon, with 304 peacekeepers killed out of a force of about 15,200 as of May 2023.
G5 Sahel or G5S is an institutional framework for coordination of regional cooperation in development policies and security matters in west Africa. It was created on 16 February 2014 in Nouakchott, Mauritania, at a summit of five Sahel countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. It adopted a convention of establishment on 19 December 2014, and is permanently seated in Mauritania. The coordination is organised on different levels. The military aspect is coordinated by the respective countries' Chiefs of Staff. The purpose of G5 Sahel is to strengthen the bond between economic development and security, and together battle the threat of jihadist organizations operating in the region.
The 2021 Nigerien coup d'etat attempt occurred on 31 March at around 3 am WAT after gunfire erupted in the streets of Niamey, the capital of Niger, two days before the inauguration of president-elect Mohamed Bazoum.
On April 2, 2021, insurgents from the al-Qaeda-linked group Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) attacked a contingent of Chadian troops serving in MINUSMA, the UN's peacekeeping branch throughout the Mali War. The Chadian troops effectively repelled the JNIM attack, inflicting heavy casualties.
The Koulogon massacre took place on January 1, 2019, in a Fulani village near the town of Koulogon Habbé, Bankass Cercle, Mali.
The 2019 Aguelhok attack in 2019 was an attack by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin against the MINUSMA base in Aguelhok, Mali on January 20, 2019. At the time of the attack, the base was defended by Chadian and Bengali peacekeepers, and was later aided by French forces part of Operation Barkhane.
On April 26 and 27, 2018, militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked two refugee camps near Andéramboukane, Ménaka, Mali, killing forty-seven people, mostly Tuareg civilians.
On November 24, 2017, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin ambushed Nigerien MINUSMA peacekeepers and Malian soldiers in the village of Indelimane, Mali.
On August 14, 2017, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked a MINUSMA base in Timbuktu, Mali.