The US and UK have ordered the evacuation of some staff from their embassies in Niger after last week’s coup, as the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the White House was committed to restoring the stricken country’s government.
Niger is a key western ally in the fight against Islamist insurgents in the region. Foreign powers have condemned the takeover, fearing it could allow the militants to gain ground.
“Given ongoing developments in Niger and out of an abundance of caution, the Department of State is ordering the temporary departure of non-emergency US government personnel and eligible family members from the US embassy in Niamey,” the state department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said in a statement, adding that the mission would remain open and that senior leadership would continue working from there.
The UK Foreign Office also said it was temporarily reducing its number of embassy staff “due to the security situation”.
Blinken told Niger’s ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, in a phone call on Wednesday that the US remained committed to the restoration of the democratically elected government.
Miller said the US remained “diplomatically engaged at the highest levels”, adding that the embassy remained open for limited, emergency services to US citizens.
On Wednesday evening the self-declared new leader of Niger said the junta would not reinstate Bazoum despite pressure from neighbouring countries.
The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has imposed sanctions on Niger and said it could authorise the use of force if the coup leaders do not restore Bazoum’s presidency within a week from last Sunday. The bloc sent a delegation to Niger on Wednesday to negotiate with the coup leaders.
In a televised address, Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani said the junta “rejects these sanctions altogether and refuses to give into any threats, wherever they come from”.
“We … call on the people of Niger as a whole and their unity to defeat all those who want to inflict unspeakable suffering on our hard-working populations and destabilise our country,” Tchiani said.
Ecowas has struggled to contain a democratic backslide in west Africa and vowed that coups would no longer be tolerated after military takeovers in member states Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, and an attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau, in the last two years.
“The military option is the very last option on the table, the last resort, but we have to prepare for the eventuality,” said Abdel-Fatau Musah, Ecowas commissioner for political affairs, peace and security. “There is a need to demonstrate that we cannot only bark but can bite.”
France has asked Niger’s new junta to “fully guarantee” the safety of its embassy in Niamey ahead of planned protests on Thursday in the capital.
The foreign ministry said it had asked Nigerien security forces to take the necessary measures to ensure that “the security of foreign diplomatic rights of way and diplomatic personnel” were guaranteed, adding that these were “obligations under international law, especially under the Vienna convention”.
The coup unleashed protests against France – Niger’s former colonial ruler and traditional ally – and Paris evacuated its citizens on Tuesday after a violent demonstration outside its embassy. During the rally, windows of the mission were smashed and crowds chanted anti-French slogans.
Nearly 1,000 people – mainly French citizens but including other nationals – were evacuated to France in the operation.
Tchiani, the former head of Bazoum’s presidential guard, shut Bazoum in his palace last week and later declared himself head of state.
The 15-nation Ecowas has taken its hardest line yet on the coup, prompting Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by juntas, to say that any military intervention in Niger would be considered a declaration of war against them too.
On Wednesday, the World Bank suspended disbursements to Niger, except for private sector partnerships, in another blow to the military leaders.
Niger has one of the largest World Bank portfolios in Africa, amounting to $4.5bn covering the country’s priority sectors, and received $600m in direct budget support from the bank between 2022 and 2023.
France, the US, Germany and Italy all have troops in Niger on counterinsurgency and training missions, helping the army to fight groups linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State.
Italy began evacuating European citizens from Niger on Tuesday.
There has been no announcement of troops being withdrawn so far. There are about 1,100 American troops in Niger, where the US military operates from two bases.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
