Niger adds to growing list of countries in the Sahel run by the military

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Mutinuous soldiers in Niger have overthrown the nation’s democratically elected government, adding it to a growing list of countries in West Africa’s Sahel region where military regimes rule. The coup by soldiers from the presidential guards follows the same pattern in other countries in the region where the coup leaders have accused the governments of failing the citizens, from Mali to Burkina Faso and Sudan. Analysts now fear that the trend of military takeovers further threatens the stability of a region that faces growing violence from Islamic extremists, which in turn has caused people to turn against elected governments.