Niger - Military Doctrine

Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security forces. In December 2015 the government announced it had foiled an attempted coup allegedly involving military officers and several members of the opposition.

Nigerien public opinion has been divided as to how far the Nigerien military should be in the forefront of the fight against Islamist Jihadists because of fears that Niger’s involvement might result in reprisals in the form of terrorist attacks on Nigerien soil. Islamic leaders also had some doubts about Niger’s alliance with the United States and the West.

The national police, under the Ministry of the Interior, Public Security, Decentralization, and Customary and Religious Affairs (Ministry of Interior), is responsible for urban law enforcement. The gendarmerie, under the Ministry of National Defense, has primary responsibility for rural security. The National Guard, also under the Ministry of Interior, is responsible for domestic security and the protection of high-level officials and government buildings. The armed forces, under the Ministry of National Defense, are responsible for external security and, in some parts of the country, for internal security. During the year the government renewed a state of emergency in Diffa Region. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control over security forces, although at times individual soldiers and police acted independently of the command structure.

Police were largely ineffective due to a lack of basic supplies, such as vehicle fuel, radios, and other investigatory and law enforcement equipment. Patrols were sporadic, and the emergency response time in Niamey could be 45 minutes or more. Police training was minimal, and only specialized police units had basic weapon-handling skills. National Guard troops acted as prison guards but had no prison-specific training. Citizens complained security forces did not adequately police border regions, remote rural areas, and major cities. Corruption remained a problem.

The gendarmerie is responsible for the investigation of police abuses; nevertheless, police impunity was a widespread problem.

Niger is doubly confronted with the terrorist threat. In the Sahel, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and al-Mourabitoune have committed numerous attacks on Nigerian soil. These groups also target French interests in the region, as evidenced by the kidnapping of two French nationals in Niamey in January 2011 and the suicide bombing of the site of the Société de mines de l'Aïr, partly owned by Areva , In May 2013. In the Lake Chad region, Boko Haram is also attacking Niger. Its leader, Abubakar Shekau, openly attacked President Mahamadou Issoufou, as well as France, in several videos.

Niger is a signatory of the Geneva Conventions and of most international treaties of international humanitarian law. "These instruments oblige states to disseminate the law and to take all necessary measures to ensure compliance of its main provisions, which aim to limit the effects of conflict," says Mr. Loukas Petridis, ICRC head of delegation in Niger. "In accordance with its mandate, the ICRC will continue to support efforts by Niger in this direction and will maintain an ongoing dialogue with the national authorities to ensure that international humanitarian law is respected everywhere where activities of military operations."

February 12, 2015, while Niger had to engage in a conflict with armed groups in the Diffa region, the ICRC formally transmitted to the relevant Nigerian authorities a memorandum recalling the obligations of armed forces in the conduct of hostilities.

The ICRC is the guardian of international humanitarian law, a set of rules based on humanitarian principles that seek to limit the effects of armed conflict. IHL protects persons who are not or no longer fighting and restricts the means and methods of warfare. In 2014, the ICRC organized in Niger awareness sessions on the basic rules of this law, involving more than 1,500 soldiers, members of the National Guard and police deployed in areas of military operations or security. Some 1,700 officers and enlisted men have also received training in international humanitarian law prior to their deployment in Mali and Côte d'Ivoire as part of the UN peace-keeping missions. Finally, senior officers and officers received scholarships to participate in training and high-level meetings on the subject.