US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has assured Niger’s former leader Mohamed Bazoum Washington’s unwavering support and warned those arresting him that “hundreds of millions of dollars of assistance” were at risk.
General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the head of Niger’s Presidential Guard since 2011, has declared himself the country’s new leader following a coup earlier this week in which the pro-Western Bazoum was jailed.
Blinken, who was winding up a multi-nation Pacific visit, called Bazoum for the second time in two days to express America’s “unflagging support,” according to department spokesman Matt Miller.
The US secretary of state also “praised Bazoum’s role in promoting security not only in Niger but the wider West Africa region,” and said Washington would keep working to “ensure the full restoration of constitutional order and democratic rule in Niger.”
Blinken voiced alarm over Bazoum’s continued arrest in a separate conversation to former Nigerien leader Mahamadou Issoufou, saying that “negotiations to ensure constitutional order in Niger were at an impasse.”
According to Miller, he told Issoufou that he “regretted that those detaining Bazoum were threatening years of successful cooperation and hundreds of millions of dollars of assistance” to Niamey and begged Issoufou to continue working on Bazoum’s behalf.
Washington has previously warned that it may suspend security and other cooperation with Niger, where roughly 1,000 US troops are stationed, for the time being.
Blinken also discussed the situation in Niger with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, highlighting the “urgency of efforts to restore constitutional order” in the jihadist-infested West African country.
