Niger's ruling junta has appointed two new senior military commanders, two weeks after disgruntled soldiers attacked key sites in the capital Niamey in a failed bid to unseat junta leader General Abdulrahmane Tiani. Brigadier General Mamane Sani Kiaou was named Chief of Defence Staff and Brigadier General Abdourahmane Abou Zataka was appointed Chief of Staff of the Army, according to state broadcaster Télé Sahel. The reshuffle follows an attempted uprising that was put down with the help of Russian paramilitary allies, and comes amid reports of deepening unrest within the military, fuelled by escalating militant violence and rising casualties among security forces in Niger (a landlocked West African country governed by a military junta since a 2023 coup).