ANALYSIS – As reported last week, a military coup has rocked Niger, a key U.S. ally in Africa. The mutinous soldiers have detained the recently elected president. Why does this matter?
Well, for starters, the U.S. has troops and drones based there in the fight against Islamist jihadists, and the country is rich in uranium. Then there is Russia which is vying for influence and control. (RELATED: Military Coup Rocks Key US Ally In Volatile Region)
Meanwhile, neighboring countries led by Nigeria may take military action to restore the president to office.
West African nations have imposed sanctions and threatened force if Niger's coup leaders do not reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum following the latest coup in the jihadist-plagued Sahel region just below the Sahara desert.
Coup leader General Abdourahmane Tiani declared himself head of state on Friday, claiming he seized power because of worsening security in Niger. Since 2021, when President Bazoum came to office, terrorist attacks have claimed the lives of at least 500 people. (RELATED: Sudan Headed For ‘Full-Scale Civil War' – Will It Spread?)
Niger has become Europe's protection against jihadis – Al Qaeda and Islamic State-linked terrorists from the north and west and Boko Haram fundamentalists from the south.
Western officials have praised President Bazoum as someone willing to fight terrorists and tackle the causes of radicalism.
Soldiers belonging to Niger's presidential guard detained Bazoum inside his official residence in Niamey. Elected in February 2021, President Bazoum has Western support in the fight against violent extremism, corruption and widespread poverty.
As The Washington Post reported:
The United States has about 1,100 troops in Niger, including a drone base, helping the country's military battle Islamist insurgents linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. The United States also provides hundreds of millions of dollars in nonmilitary foreign assistance.
The move against Bazoum comes after military takeovers in neighboring Mali – where coup leaders expelled French and UN peacekeepers – and Burkina Faso.
Both countries have switched their pro-western relationships to Russia, inviting Wagner Group mercenaries to help fight an Islamist insurgency that has taken over large swaths of the Sahel.
The Washington Post noted that:
The country also sits in the middle of the unstable semiarid Sahel region south of the Sahara desert that unfortunately has become known as Africa's “coup belt.” Neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso recently also saw democratic governments toppled in coups, ostensibly for the same reason cited by Niger's generals in their power grab — the supposed failure of civilian leaders to crack down hard enough on the Islamist insurgents and bring security to the population. Niger's newest would-be military leader specifically blamed the deposed president for failing to cooperate more fully with Mali's military regime.
The Washington Post continued:
It is worrisome to see reports that many in Niger appear to be supporting this coup. Even more worrying are reports that some pro-coup members of the public were displaying Russian flags and calling for assistance from the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which has been active in Mali — where they have supplanted French troops and have been credibly accused of human rights abuses, including massacres of noncombatants.
In Niger, Bazoum has by contrast welcomed French troops and has courted both European and U.S. help in combating jihadi attacks. The coup follows Bazoum's pro-democracy moves, especially progressive attitudes on women's rights and education.
The United States, France and the United Nations have strongly condemned the putsch. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called for the immediate release of Niger's leader.
“I spoke with President Bazoum earlier this morning and made clear that the United States resolutely supports him as the democratically elected president of Niger. We call for his immediate release,” Blinken said. (RELATED: Former National Security Advisor Calls Blinken's China Trip ‘Weakness')
Blinken has also warned in Australia that the U.S. will suspend all financial and security assistance to Niger if the president isn't restored:
Our economic and security partnership with Niger, which is significant, hundreds of millions of dollars, depends on the continuation of the democratic governance and constitutional order that has been disrupted by the actions in the last few days.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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