Blinken calls on Niger junta to release ousted Nigerien President

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
9 Aug 2023 13:00

In an interview on Tuesday with French broadcaster RFI, Blinken dodged answering the question of whether the US would remain or withdraw its troops from Niger.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (AP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Niger's coup leaders to release the country's deposed President Mohamad Bazoum and his family.

"Spoke to Nigerien President Bazoum to express our continued efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the current constitutional crisis. The United States reiterates our call for the immediate release of him and his family," Blinken posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday.

Spoke to Nigerien President Bazoum to express our continued efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the current constitutional crisis. The United States reiterates our call for the immediate release of him and his family.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) August 9, 2023

In an interview on Tuesday with French broadcaster RFI (blocked in Niger due to its ties to France), Blinken dodged answering the question of whether the US would remain or withdraw its troops from Niger.

Last month, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that the US has about 1,000 troops stationed in the country and that its forces would not intervene to assist with the process of evacuating foreign citizens.

On August 8, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that the US is still hopeful for a possible diplomatic solution that would see the ousted Nigerean President return to power, that this scenario remains a "realistic" expectation while condemning the military junta leaders' refusal to meet with the head of its West African mission.

"We do still have hope, but we were also very realistic," Miller said, a day after acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met with members of the Nigerien "civil society" after being refused a meeting with junta's leaders and the imprisoned ex-President Mohamed Bazoum.

"We do have hope that the situation will be reversed but at the same time, we are making clear, including in direct conversations with junta leaders themselves, what the consequences are for failing to return to constitutional order," Miller stated.

The US move to resecure its interests in Niger through diplomatic means has also been echoed by Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu who heads ECOWAS.

Tinubu said he sees diplomacy as the optimal path to follow in Niger, that he and other West African leaders "would prefer a resolution that was obtained through diplomatic means, through peaceful means, rather than any other," spokesperson of the Nigerian presidency Ajuri Ngelale said, adding, however, that "no options have been taken off of the table."

"That will be a position that is maintained going forward, pending any other resolution that may or may not result from the ECOWAS extraordinary summit holding on Thursday," Ngelale added, a stance that echoes the US current attitude in West Africa.

So far, military interference has not yet been ruled out, as the Western-backed ECOWAS announced earlier on Tuesday that it has the capacity to deploy 25,000 troops in order to invade Niger and reinstate Bazoum back in power.

On their part, the military governments of Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger's neighbors, warned that any military intervention against Niger would be considered a declaration of war against them.

On Tuesday, the head of delegations of both Burkina Faso and Mali, Mali's Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization Abdoulaye Maiga said after a meeting with the Nigerien coup leaders that Mali and Burkina Faso will not accept any military intervention in Niger.

"One thing is certain, President [of Mali Assimi] Goita and [President of Burkina Faso Ibrahim] Traore said no, no, and no. We will not accept military intervention in Niger," Maiga said, as quoted by Mali's aBamako news website.