White House Doesn’t Rule out Support for Niger Invasion

By Staff, Agencies

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stressed that the US will not commit to backing or opposing a potential invasion of Niger by its West African neighbors.

Speaking at a State Department briefing, Kirby declared that the US wants detained Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum released from captivity and brought back into power, after his pro-Western government was overthrown by senior military leaders last month.

Asked whether Washington would support military intervention by the Nigeria-led Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS] to restore Bazoum’s government, Kirby was ambiguous.

“I’m not going to speculate about intervention one way or another from ECOWAS or anybody else,” he said. “We still believe that there’s time and space for diplomacy to get us to a resolution here which respects the will of the Nigerien people.”

ECOWAS activated a standby force last week after Niger’s new military government ignored an ultimatum to free Bazoum and relinquish power. Negotiations between the coup leaders and the regional bloc are ongoing, while ECOWAS officials meet in Ghana this week to make a final decision on military action, with a decision expected on Friday.

France and the US maintain military bases in Niger, with around 1,000 American and 1,500 French troops currently in the country.