The Latest Breaking News from Mali

IN recent years it’s been derisively dubbed the “coup belt”.

The West African nation Niger is under military rule following a coup in which President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown and held captive by members of his own guard.

Typing errors saw documents addressed to the west African country’s .ml domain, rather than the US military’s .mil.

As the world condemns the coup in Niger, analysts say the West still needs a presence there for an eye on the Sahel.

The MoD has launched an investigation over the typing error

Putschists in Niger said Thursday they had won broad army support and called for calm in the troubled country, but former colonial power France said it did not consider the attempted coup to be "final".

The MoD has launched an investigation over the typing error.

Paris says it's concerned by the military coup in Niger – its only remaining ally in the Sahel region. While a political vacuum could be dangerous, any potential impact on France's economic and military interests will take longer to emerge.

The situation in Niger remained fluid on Thursday, a day after members of the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum at the presidential palace in Niamey. FRANCE 24 spoke with Danielle Resnick, a political scientist specialising in sub-Saharan Africa at the Brookings Institution, about how a military coup could affect…

Niger plotters cited worsening insecurity in their takeover speech, a go-to reason for recent coups in the Sahel.

Until Wednesday’s coup attempt in Niger, the United States' security ally had avoided the military takeovers that destabilized West African neighbors in recent years