Niger’s president pleads for help as mutinous soldiers sever French military ties
PBS NewsHourAug 02, 2023
The 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.
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.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
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
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.
