In 2011, after two decades climbing the ranks of Niger's army, Abdourahamane Tiani was handed one of the military's most prized appointments: the head of an elite unit set up to protect the president. Last week, Tiani, a general, used his position and manpower to do the opposite. He imprisoned President Mohamed Bazoum in the presidential palace and appeared on state television on Friday to declare himself head of state, confirming the seventh military coup in West and Central Africa in three years.
Sudanese paramilitary leader General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemedti, called for the replacement of army leadership on Friday in his first on-camera appearance since fighting broke out. The fighting, broke out in April as the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) vied for power amid a planned transition towards civilian rule, has led to the displacement of more than 3 million people and thrown the country into one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Lahoud: Boueiz Ordered that Resistance Be Struck I Am Not One of Syria s Men in Lebanon aawsat.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aawsat.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Lebanon's outgoing central bank governor Riad Salameh told Reuters on Friday the bank could still contain the country's financial meltdown through "monetary initiatives" after he leaves office at the end of the month. Salameh, 73, again pledged to leave when his term ends on Monday, his 30-year-tenure tarnished recently by the economy's spectacular collapse and charges in Lebanon and abroad over accusations he embezzled a fortune in Lebanese public funds.
A Russian aircraft flew "dangerously close" to a US drone over Syria earlier this week in violation of established protocols and international norms, the White House said on Wednesday. "We have seen the early reports of a second Russian fighter aircraft this week, flying dangerously close to our drone on a defeat ISIS mission," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in a press briefing. The US military said on Tuesday the Russian fighter jet hit the US drone with a flare and "severely" damaged its propeller over Syria, according to Reuters.