On Friday 11 September 2026, two weeks after the mutiny that shook Niamey on the night of 28 to 29 August, General Abdourahamane Tiani overhauled the military high command: Brigadier General Mamane Sani Kiaou takes over as chief of the defence staff from Major General Moussa Salaou Barmou, a central figure of the regime since July 2023 (Kaweru, 12 September 2026). This reshuffle brings back to the fore a question asked by everyone working in Niger: who does what among the defence and security forces (FDS)?
This reference sheet sets out the structure of Niger’s FDS in 2026 — supervising ministries, missions, intervention units, defence zones — and what it means for an exposed organisation. It complements our map of security risks in West Africa and our analysis of how insecurity is managed in Tillabéri.
Niger’s FDS at a glance
Niger’s FDS rest on four main corps split between two ministries, plus the Presidential Guard and paramilitary corps such as Customs and the Water and Forestry service.
| Corps | Supervising ministry | Main missions | Intervention unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niger Armed Forces (FAN) | Defence | Territorial defence, counter-terrorism operations, defence zones | COS special forces |
| National Gendarmerie | Defence | Judicial and administrative policing outside towns, military police, borders | USIGN, GAR-SI |
| National Guard | Interior | Public security, rural and pastoral policing, protection of buildings, prisons | GIS |
| National Police | Interior (Public Security) | Urban public security, judicial police, borders and migration | GIPN |
The Niger Armed Forces: army, air force and special forces
The FAN comprise the army and the air force, a service in its own right since 2003. President Mohamed Bazoum cited around 30,000 soldiers in early 2022 and was aiming for 50,000 in 2025; no consolidated official figure has been published since the July 2023 coup. According to the Minister of State for Defence, General Salifou Mody, the FAN and the Gendarmerie recruited 12,792 people in 2024 and trained 18,377 personnel, 66% more than in 2023 (APAnews). On 3 March 2026, a decree reorganised the Ministry of Defence to integrate new military technologies, including drones. On their limits, see the real capacity of Sahelian armies.
The 11 September 2026 reshuffle
- Chief of the defence staff: Brigadier General Mamane Sani Kiaou, until then army chief of staff, succeeds Major General Moussa Salaou Barmou;
- Army chief of staff: Brigadier General Abdourahmane Abou Zataka;
- Deputy air force chief of staff: Air Brigadier General Ismael K. Sidi Omar K.;
- Deputy to the army chief of staff: Colonel-Major Ibrahim Abderrazak Ben Fonction.
General Barmou’s departure carries particular weight: a former head of the special forces, he steered their build-up from 2018, and it was a special forces unit that found itself at the heart of the August mutiny. The authorities have not officially linked the two events.
Special forces, from the BSI programme to the BSR-COS
From 2018, the Special Operations Command (COS) created special intervention battalions (BSI), with the aim of fielding twelve, trained with the support of foreign partners (United States, France, Belgium, Germany, Canada, Italy). After 2023, the departure of French, US and German forces upended this set-up; Italy remains present through its bilateral mission (MISIN).
The mutiny of 28 and 29 August 2026 brought the BSR-COS into the spotlight: a special forces battalion whose command post was located at Air Base 101 in Niamey and elements of which clashed with the Presidential Guard. State television broadcast an inventory of its weaponry, including 34 armed pick-ups and two light armoured vehicles (i-Sahel). Its organisational chart and the chain of command that led to the mutiny have not been publicly established (see the September 2026 overview).
Niger’s defence zones
The territory is divided into numbered defence zones (ZD), each placed under the authority of a zone commander. According to official handover-of-command statements (Niger Press Agency, Le Sahel):
- ZD No. 1: Tillabéri;
- ZD No. 2: Agadez;
- ZD No. 3: Zinder;
- ZD No. 4: Tahoua;
- ZD No. 5: Diffa;
- ZD No. 6: Maradi;
- ZD No. 7: Agali, in the Dosso region;
- ZD No. 8: Dirkou, for the department of Bilma (Kawar, Madama);
- ZD No. 9: Téra, in the north-west of the Tillabéri region.
A zone of its own for Téra reflects the pressure in the Liptako-Gourma, where the Islamic State in the Sahel and JNIM operate. ZD No. 8 covers a vast desert area along the Libyan and Algerian borders; ZD No. 5 faces Boko Haram and ISWAP, mirroring north-east Nigeria.
The National Gendarmerie
A military force under the supervision of the Ministry of Defence, the National Gendarmerie numbers more than 10,000 personnel according to available estimates. It handles administrative and judicial policing outside the main urban centres, military policing (provost duties), border surveillance and public order.
It has two elite units. The USIGN (National Gendarmerie Special Intervention Unit) responds to hostage-taking and situations of very high violence. The GAR-SI (Rapid Action Group – Surveillance and Intervention), unveiled on 16 January 2019, was funded by the European Union (€5.8 million for Niger under a €41.6 million regional programme) and trained by the Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese gendarmeries to combat terrorism, organised crime and cross-border trafficking (EEAS).
Niger’s National Guard
Successor to the Republican Guard (1963-1997) and then the National Intervention and Security Forces (1997-2011), the National Guard is a paramilitary corps attached to the Ministry of the Interior since 2003. Its missions, set out in an ordinance of 7 October 2010, range from public security to rural and pastoral policing, as well as the protection of buildings, prison administration and the operational defence of the territory.
It retains camel-mounted units and an Intervention and Security Group (GIS). Its presence at isolated posts in the north leaves it directly exposed. On 15 August 2026, the Patriotic Movement for Freedom and Justice (MPLJ), which is calling for the release of former president Mohamed Bazoum, claimed the attack on the National Guard camp at Séguédine and on a joint police-gendarmerie-customs post, saying it had killed at least 15 members of the security forces; this toll has not been independently confirmed. The Patriotic Liberation Front (FPL), for its part, had claimed the sabotage of a section of the Niger-Benin oil pipeline in June 2024.
The National Police
The civilian component of the FDS, the National Police reports to the minister responsible for Public Security and has an autonomous statute set by a law of 9 November 2020. Its directorate-general oversees, among others, public security, the judicial police and territorial surveillance, which is responsible for border posts and migration flows.
Its elite unit is the GIPN (National Police Intervention Group), which specialises in high-risk interventions in urban settings; in February 2020, an interoperability course brought it together with the GIS, the USIGN and the Niamey airport intervention brigade. The Police also houses the Central Office for the Suppression of Illicit Drug Trafficking (OCRTIS), which was behind the record seizure of 268 kg of cocaine in Zinder in May 2026 (see cocaine trafficking in West Africa).
Presidential Guard, customs and paramilitary forces
The Presidential Guard, commanded by General Tiani until he took power in July 2023, protects the head of state and was on the front line against the mutineers in August 2026. Customs and the Water and Forestry service, both armed corps, take part in border arrangements, as at the joint post targeted at Séguédine.
What has changed since 2023
Reshaped partnerships. The French air base in Niamey closed on 22 December 2023 and US forces left Agadez in 2024 (see the impact of the break with France). Cooperation has turned towards Russia, Turkey and China, and towards the Alliance of Sahel States, whose Unified Force frames joint operations with Mali and Burkina Faso.
A general mobilisation in preparation. On 26 December 2025, the Council of Ministers adopted an ordinance on general mobilisation: people, property and services may be requisitioned, and every citizen is required to answer call-up or recall orders (Al Jazeera). On 24 July 2026, the commission responsible for organising it, chaired by Brigadier General Mamane Souley, announced the end of the first phase; implementation is still to come (ANP).
Constant operational pressure. According to ACLED, nearly 2,000 people were killed in violence in 2025. The Niamey airport area was targeted by attacks claimed by the Islamic State in the Sahel (28 January 2026) and then by JNIM (18 June 2026).
What this means for organisations present in Niger
- Identify the right point of contact. In towns, the Police; in rural areas, the Gendarmerie and the National Guard; in operational zones, the defence zone command. A security plan should name, for each site and each route, the competent force and the contact channel, via governorates and prefectures.
- Factor in escorts and authorisations. Travel outside Niamey, convoys and sensitive sites are often subject to FDS authorisations or escorts, with rules that vary from region to region. See our guide on road convoy security.
- Anticipate institutional volatility. Changes of command and the possible activation of requisitions (vehicles, fuel, equipment) should be built into continuity and crisis management scenarios.
What we do not know
No consolidated official headcount has been published since 2023, and the figures circulating online are often outdated. The organisational chart of the special forces, the causes of the August 2026 mutiny and the practical arrangements for the general mobilisation remain to be documented. For a finer regional reading, the mapping of security actors in the Maradi, Tahoua and Tillabéri regions (ASSN, 2022, PDF) remains useful, to be cross-checked against developments since then.
FAQ
What are Niger’s defence and security forces?
The Niger Armed Forces (army and air force), the National Gendarmerie, the National Guard and the National Police, plus the Presidential Guard, Customs and the Water and Forestry service.
What is the difference between the National Guard and the Gendarmerie in Niger?
The Gendarmerie is a military force attached to Defence, responsible in particular for judicial policing outside towns. The National Guard is a paramilitary corps attached to the Interior, responsible for public security, rural and pastoral policing and prisons.
What are the GIPN and the GAR-SI in Niger?
The GIPN is the intervention unit of the National Police. The GAR-SI is a mobile Gendarmerie unit, unveiled in 2019 with European funding, dedicated to terrorism, organised crime and borders.
How many defence zones does Niger have?
Nine, according to official statements: from ZD No. 1 (Tillabéri) to ZD No. 9 (Téra), with ZD No. 8 covering the department of Bilma from Dirkou.
Tracking the FDS and the threat, zone by zone
In Niger, the security of a mission depends as much on the threat as on the ability to identify the right force in the right place. Sahel Watch helps security managers, NGOs and analysts continuously track incidents, armed actors and institutional developments across the region.