U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned on Saturday that the political turmoil in Niger caused by a military takeover that removed the president this week poses a threat to the economic help provided by Washington to the African nation.
The military of Niger removed the country’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, and designated Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani as his successor on Friday, making Niger the latest country in the Sahel area of West Africa to be ruled by the military.
While in Australia as part of a Pacific tour, Blinken said that the continuation of security and economic accords between the U.S. and Niger depended on the release of Bazoum and “the immediate restoration of the democratic order in Niger.”
Blinken said that “our economic and security partnership with Niger,” worth hundreds of millions of dollars, is at risk unless “the democratic governance and constitutional order” established in recent days is restored. This is yet another reason why the current course of action must be changed immediately: “So that assistance, that support, is clearly in jeopardy as a result of these actions.”
Blinken refrained from labelling the military activities in Niger a coup, which may have resulted in the loss of millions of dollars in military aid and assistance for the African country.
Blinken, while speaking in Brisbane, mentioned a conversation he had with President Bazoum on Saturday but did not elaborate on. When asked about regional efforts to quell the disturbance, he pointed to the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, and other groups.
“We have communicated as clearly as possible to those responsible for disrupting the constitutional order and Niger’s democracy that the very significant assistance that we have in place that is making a material difference in the lives of the people of Niger is clearly in jeopardy,” Blinken said.
U.S. Embassy workers and their families, Blinken said, are secure, and the embassy has issued a security alert telling Americans in Niger to stay out of trouble by staying away from the coup’s epicentre.
The military organisation behind the coup has declared itself the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country and claims it will continue to work with the public.
Air Force Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane was quoted as saying, “This is as a result of the continuing degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance,” in a video released by the coup leaders on Wednesday. He declared a curfew and said all land and air crossings were shut down until the situation was under control.
Bazoum was chosen in Niger’s first democratic power transfer since the country gained independence from France two years ago.
In the Sahel region of Africa, where Russia and Western countries have vied for influence in the fight against terrorism, Niger is considered as the last solid partner for the West in the war against jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.
The United States and other European countries have helped educate Niger’s armed forces, and France currently has 1,500 soldiers stationed there who participate in joint operations with Niger’s military.