The White House is holding out hope that President Mohamed Bazoum — currently under house arrest — will be returned to power. But threats from other West African states and the U.S. haven’t budged Niger’s coup leaders.
US prepares to evacuate Niger
Washington has refrained from calling the change in government a ‘coup’, which would require it to cut military ties
The Pentagon is scouting northern Africa’s Sahel and Saharan regions for allies “that we could maybe partner up with, and then move our assets there,” Hecker revealed, while declining to name specific countries. “[We] know where we would like the base to be, but more of that’s going to be diplomatic,” he said.
Hecker clarified that Washington had not made a final decision on whether to classify the Nigerien palace guard’s overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum last month as a coup - a decision that would require it to sever most of the military and security ties the two nations share.
Making that decision could take “weeks or much longer,” Hecker explained, acknowledging that leaving Niger “obviously will have an effect” on US intelligence and counterterrorism work, regardless of whether the exit happened because the Biden administration had rejected cooperation with the US-trained Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani’s military government or because that government had kicked them out.
- Before the takeover, the US and France had 1,000 and 1,500 troops stationed in Niger, respectively, with several military bases in Niamey and the southern city of Agadez, among other places.
- The US is likely hoping to avoid a repeat of its disastrous departure from Afghanistan, which left millions of dollars’ worth of military equipment and hundreds of Afghan collaborators in the hands of the Taliban.
- ECOWAS members Burkina Faso and Mali have already warned they would view any military move on Niger as a declaration of war against themselves.
- Niger’s military government, which has begun recruiting volunteers to resist any potential invasion, has allegedly warned that Bazoum will be killed in the event of an invasion, according to Western officials.
- The Nigerien general speaks perfect English, and attended multiple English language and military training courses at bases in the United States over nearly two decades, including at Fort Benning, Georgia, and the National Defense University.
Hicks and Barmou developed a friendship. They had many long conversations over dinner about the influx of extremists into Niger, and how difficult it was for Barmou to see his country deteriorate in recent years, said Hicks.
“He’s the kind of guy that gives you hope for the future of the country, so that makes this doubly disappointing,” said Hicks. It was “disheartening and disturbing” to learn that Barmou was involved in the coup.
As its neighbors fell like dominos to military coups over the last two years, Niger — and Barmou himself — remained the last bastion of hope for the U.S. military partnership in the region.
He “was a good partner, a trusted partner,” said a U.S. official familiar with the U.S.-Niger military relationship. “But local dynamics, local politics, just trump whatever the international community may or may not want.”
It’s not clear whether Barmou was initially involved in plotting the coup, which is believed to have been spearheaded by Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, the head of Bazoum’s presidential guard.
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