WASHINGTON (CN) — The U.S. State Department has legally declared the military takeover of Niger a coup, cutting off hundreds of millions in foreign aid and complicating counterterrorism efforts in the area.
Officials made the declaration Tuesday as the world was focused on the escalation of violence in Israel.
The U.S. in August paused $200 million in foreign aid programs to the Nigerien government and Tuesday’s declaration officially suspends that assistance.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S.-funded organization providing foreign aid, also suspended preliminary work on its $302 million project to improve more than 130 miles of regional transportation corridors.
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Washington’s humanitarian, food and health assistance will continue.
“We stand with the Nigerien people in their aspirations for democracy, prosperity, and stability,” Miller said in a statement Tuesday. “Any resumption of U.S. assistance will require action by the National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland to usher in democratic governance in a quick and credible timeframe.”
Niger has a history of coups, experiencing five successful ones since gaining independence from France in 1960. The most recent takeover occurred in 2010 after President Mamadou Tandja tried to stay in power past constitutional term limits.
Mohamed Bazoum was elected in 2021 to succeed Mahamadou Issoufou, who voluntarily left office after two terms. It marked Niger’s first peaceful transfer of power since independence.
But the Nigerien military seized power on July 26 and detained Bazoum, who has refused to resign. Military leaders have said Bazoum will be prosecuted for treason.
General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who was declared head of government, claimed the coup was necessary because of failures in the fight against Islamic insurgencies. Niger, along with many countries in western Africa, face an ongoing insurgency by several armed groups in the Sahel region, including the Islamic State, al-Qaida and Boko Haram.
The Pentagon and State Department have provided more than $350 million in military assistance and training programs to Niger since 2012, one of the largest such efforts in sub-Saharan Africa.
U.S. law, however, requires that money approved by Congress for training and equipping a foreign military must be restricted if that country’s elected leader has been overthrown by its military.
Washington was slow to issue the declaration because it could heavily impact counterterrorism efforts in the region. Diplomats have been trying to negotiate a return to democracy, but have been unsuccessful.
The United States has more than 1,000 troops in Niger. Before the coup, they coordinated with the Nigerien military on counterrorism operations and security force assistance training. France also maintained 1,400 troops in the country, but has started to withdraw its forces.
The Pentagon said last month that it had resumed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in Niger, just no longer in coordination with the country’s military.
"The United States has not restarted counterterrorism operations, or any security force assistance training with Niger," Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said at the time.
Military officials have not said exactly how the determination will affect its operations in the country.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Bazoum on Monday, according to a spokesperson. In his first contact with the detained president since early August, Blinken “reiterated that a democratically elected, civilian-led government presents the best opportunity to ensure that Niger remains a strong partner in security and development in the region,” the spokesperson said.
At the time, the coup brought the specter of a regional conflict as the Economic Community of West African States threatened military action to restore democracy in Niger. The organization appeared to balk after neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, which are also run by the military, said they would support Niger if it was invaded.
Niger’s coup was the sixth military takeover in western Africa since 2020, a troubling trend for the Sahel, which is the large transition zone between the Sahara desert in the north and the savannahs of the south.
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