A coup by the military overthrows President Mohamed Bazoum

Late on 26 July 2023, a coup by the military overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, putting an end to the Seventh Republic and the government of Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou. On 28 July, General Abdourahamane Tchiani was proclaimed as the de facto head of state of the country. Former finance minister Ali Lamine Zeine was declared the new Prime Minister of Niger. The coup was condemned by ECOWAS, which threatened to use military intervention to reinstate the government of Bazoum if the coup leaders did not comply by 6 August. The deadline passed without military intervention, though ECOWAS imposed sanctions, including cuts of Nigerian energy exports to Niger which had previously provided 70–90% of Niger's power. In November, the coup-led governments of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger formed the Alliance of Sahel States in opposition to potential military intervention. On 24 February 2024, several ECOWAS sanctions against Niger were dropped for humanitarian and diplomatic reasons, and Nigeria agreed to resume electricity exports to Niger. In the buildup to the August ECOWAS deadline, the junta requested help from the Russian Wagner Group, though Wagner mercenaries were not known to have entered the country as a result. In October, the junta expelled French troops from the country, presenting the move as a step towards sovereignty from the former colonial power, and in December it suspended cooperation with the Francophonie alleging its promotion of French interests. UN resident coordinator Louise Aubin was also expelled in October after the junta alleged 'underhanded maneuvers' by U.N secretary-general António Guterres to prevent the country's participation in the UN General Assembly. In October, the U.S. officially designated the takeover as a coup, suspending most Niger–US military cooperation as well as hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign assistance programs. In April 2024, Russian military trainers and equipment began to arrive in Niger under a new military agreement, and the US agreed to withdraw troops from Niger following the termination of a Niger–US agreement that had allowed US personnel to be stationed in the country.