Editing Geography of Niger (section)

==Brief history==
Niger, which attained independence from [[France]] in 1960 was under military rule until 1991. On public demand [[Ali Saibou|Gen. Ali Saibou]] held multiparty elections in 1993 and soon democracy came into effect in 1993. However, political unrest was caused by [[Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara|Col. Ibrahim Bare]] who staged a coup in 1996, but he later died in a counter insurgency operations by officers of the military establishment in 1999. This was followed by fresh elections for a democratic rule, and [[Mamadou Tandja]] assumed power in December 1999. Tandja, who won the elections in 2004 and in 2009, wanted to bring about a constitutional amendment to extend his tenure as president. However, in February 2010, he was removed from the post of the president in a coup engineered by the military and the constitution was annulled. Soon after, in 2011, elections were held and [[Mahamadou Issoufou]] got elected as the president and was sworn in April 2011.<ref name="The World Factbook"/>
Niger's problem with rebellious groups continued during 2007 and 2008. Rebellion was controlled. However, its security problems with its neighbors such as [[Libya]], [[Nigeria]] and [[Mali]] have been a cause for concern.<ref name="The World Factbook"/>