Unrest in Niger Raises New Questions About Security in West Africa

Wednesday's attempt by military members to seize power in Niger puts the West African country's security into question.

A group of soldiers said late Wednesday they had ousted democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.

Earlier Wednesday, however, the president's Twitter account released a message saying he and his family were safe. It said other military members planned to support the president.

The leadership situation in Niger creates a question of what will happen to the West African country that is campaigning against religious extremism.

Western nations, including France and the U.S., have considered Niger to be a democratic ally. Both countries have about 1,000 soldiers in Niger. The soldiers are there to support the country if it is attacked by Islamic extremist fighters.

France has been active in the area, offering similar support to the nearby countries of Mali and Burkina Faso. The French soldiers, however, left Mali in late in 2022 after tensions with the country's military leadership.

U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, visited Niger in March. He called the country a "model of democracy." Blinken announced $150 million in aid while he was there.

Concern about western support

The military leaders of Mali and Burkina Faso use the Russian Wagner Group for military support. The concern is that Niger will do something similar, removing any western influence from the area.

Paul Melly is an Africa expert at the Chatham House research group in London. Before the military action on Wednesday, he said Niger had been open to working with international partners. "So, quite a lot is at stake here," he added.

Melly pointed to one important difference between what is happening in Niger and other nations in the area whose leaders have been ousted.

In Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso, the people on the streets supported the military coup. In Niger, Melly said, that was not what happened. People were supporting Bazoum, the president.

Future of western positions

Western nations are concerned about Niger because they have used the country as an operations base in actions against extremist fighters.

The concern is that a leadership change in Niger will limit what western countries can do to fight terrorist groups in West Africa and the Sahel. The Sahel is the area south of the Sahara Desert.

In 2021, the United States said it had supported Niger with over $500 million of military aid and training since 2012. Earlier in 2023, the European Union started a $30 million training program in Niger. The U.S. is known to have a drone base it uses to fight militant extremists in the northern part of Niger.

John Manley is a spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command. He said it is too soon to know how the coup attempt in Niger will affect U.S. activities in the country.

Other African nations are worried

Other African nations say they are worried that fighting in the northern part of West Africa will move south. Omar Touray is president of the ECOWAS Commission. ECOWAS is the economic group formed by 15 West African nations.

Touray recently told the United Nations that extremist fighting could move into Ghana and Ivory Coast if Niger loses western support. West African nations say there were about 1,800 extremist attacks this year resulting in almost 4,600 deaths – mostly in Burkina Faso and Niger.

I'm Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press.

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coup (d'état) –n. (diplomatic) a sudden attempt by a small group to take over a government usually by force

drone –n. an unmanned aircraft