Niger: Military Option Is On The Table-Us

The United States government on Tuesday, warned the coupists in Niger that a military option is on the table if they failed to return power to the country’s democratically elected government of Mohammed Bazoum. 

The warning is contained in a in a special briefing on Niger by the US Acting Deputy Secretary, Victoria Nuland. 

Nuland, who spoke via a teleconference, noted that a lot of grounds are being covered in the process of sorting out the dilemma in Niger, insisting however, that it may come to a point where military action would become inevitable. 

“…There is still a lot of motion here on many sides with regard to where the governance situation will go.

“So we will be watching that closely and there are a number of regional meetings coming up and consultations with allies and partners that we need to make.

“So we’ll be watching the situation, but we understand our legal responsibilities and I explained those very clearly to the guys (Niger junta) who were responsible for this and that it is not our desire to go there, but they may push us to that point, and we asked them to be prudent in that regard and to hear our offer to try to work with them to solve this diplomatically and return to constitutional order,” she said. 

She added that US President, Joe Biden, was in constant touch with ECOWAS Chairman who doubles as Nigeria President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, alongside other European Allies, over the situation in Niger. 

“He’s also been in regular touch with President Tinubu of Nigeria, who is currently head of ECOWAS, with AU Chairperson Faki, and with a number of European allies with whom we work in Niger, particularly on counterterrorism.

“And all of this has been rooted in our shared values, including the sense of democracy, which was why it was so difficult, and remains difficult, to see the current challenge to the democratic order which began on July 26.”