Niger Armed Forces

The Niger Armed Forces (French: Forces Armées Nigeriennes) (FAN) comprises both the military and national police services of the West African nation of Niger, totaling around 12,000 active personnel and 5,000 reservists. While under civilian political control since 1999, the military has played a major role in Nigerien government, ruling the nation for 21 years of the period from independence in 1960 to the founding of the Fifth Republic in 1999. Military leaders have staged three successful coup d'états, and there have been several more attempted, as recently as 2002. While never engaging in open warfare with foreign nations, the Nigerien Military has participated in international peacekeeping missions and fought two domestic insurgencies. Since 2007 the armed forces have carried out a campaign against ethnic Tuareg based rebels in the north of the country. The FAN has frequently come under international scrutiny for its human rights record.