NIGER COUP: US ENVOY HOLDS ‘DIFFICULT’ TALKS WITH JUNTA
A senior US official has held face-to-face talks with Niger’s military leaders following last month’s coup.
Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said the conversations had been “extremely frank and at times quite difficult”.
Washington has said the coup can still be ended diplomatically and President Mohamed Bazoum reinstated, but has suspended aid payments in the meantime.
West African countries are set to meet on Thursday to discuss the crisis.
Ecowas – a trading bloc of 15 West African states – had issued a 23:00 GMT Sunday deadline to Niger’s junta leaders to stand down and restore the elected president.
The coup leaders responded to a threat of military action from the bloc by closing Niger’s airspace.
Speaking to reporters from capital Niamey, Ms Nuland said that, in talks lasting more than two hours, the US had offered its help “if there is a desire on the part of the people who are responsible for this to return to the constitutional order”.
“I would not say that we were in any way taken up on that offer,” she said.
Ms Nuland said she had met the new military chief of staff, Brigadier General Moussa Salaou Barmou, but not with Niger’s self-proclaimed new leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, or with Mr Bazoum.
Mr Bazoum remains in detention but has previously spoken to US officials by phone.
Ms Nuland said she also raised concerns over claims the coup leaders had asked Russia’s Wagner mercenary group for help in maintaining control of the country.
“The people who have taken this action here understand very well the risks to their sovereignty when Wagner is invited in,” she said.
Gen Tchiani, a former chief of the presidential guard to Mr Bazoum, seized power on 26 July, saying he wanted to avert “the gradual and inevitable demise” of Niger.
The growing instability in the region compelled former colonial power France on Monday to warn its citizens against travelling to the Sahel region, and for those still there to be cautious due to anti-France sentiment.
“It is essential to limit travel, to stay away from any gatherings and to keep themselves regularly informed of the situation,” read a statement from the foreign ministry. BBC
