Top US Official Visits Niger to Meet Coup Leaders

Facts

• Following Pres. Mohamed Bazoum's ousting in a coup last month, acting US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met with senior officials of Niger's military leadership in the capital of Niamey on Monday.¹
• Nuland said she held "frank and difficult" talks with military chief Moussa Salaou Barmou and three colonels supporting him, calling for reinstating the democratically elected government, but was denied a meeting with Bazoum and coup leader Abdourahmane Tchiani.²
• Nuland reportedly reiterated Washington's commitment to a "negotiated solution" and offered US assistance in restoring democratic order in the uranium- and oil-rich African country. However, she said the new military rulers showed little interest.³
• Nuland's Niger trip came after the expiration of an ultimatum set by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to reinstate Bazoum by Sunday or risk military intervention, prompting Niamey to close the country's airspace.⁴
• However, ECOWAS is reportedly not considering military action to reinstate Bazoum at this stage, saying dialogue is still possible. The 15-nation West African bloc has set a summit for Thursday in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, to resume diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.⁵
• Meanwhile, US Sec. of State Antony Blinken told French Radio RFI that the US agreed with the West African bloc that diplomacy is "the preferred way" of resolving the crisis in Niger, as well as reinstituting the Bazoum government.⁶

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²Al Jazeera, ³US News & World Report, ⁴Time, ⁵France 24, and ⁶EWN.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Washington Post. Nuland's visit is a signal of solidarity with the democratically elected government and underscores Niger's significance to US efforts to combat Islamist extremism in Africa. While military intervention could trigger an incalculably bloody conflict, ECOWAS and the US are well advised to intensify their efforts to find a diplomatic solution. Moreover, the West African bloc's financial sanctions demonstrate that military coups have no future in 21st-century Africa. Releasing Bazoum would be a great first step toward de-escalating the situation.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Democracy Now. While the US talks of returning Niger to democracy and the rule of law, its primary concern is protecting its own interests. Not only is Bazoum a close ally of the US and France, but Washington has stationed more than a thousand troops in uranium-rich Niger, where it also maintains a large drone base as part of its counterterrorism paradigm. Instead of blaming Niger, the world should be investigating how nearly 12 West African coups since 2008 have been instigated by US-trained military leaders, including those who Nuland just met with.

Predictions