Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, called the coup in Niger “extremely troubling” and said he supports the efforts by some West African countries to “restore constitutional order” in the country, while his second-in-command vowed to starve the country of funding.

The bloodless coup occurred on 26 July and deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, who was embraced by the West as a beacon of hope for American-style democracy in the region. (See “NIGER COUP: ENOUGH OF THE WEST, MOVING TOWARD RUSSIA. EU/FRANCE WANT ITS URANIUM,” 1 Aug 2023.)

Gen. Abdourahmane Tiani, the head of the presidential guard, has declared himself leader. His fellow coup leaders said they put an end to the regime because of the “continuing degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance.”

The U.S. is concerned about the possibility that Niamey looks to Russia for security, instead of Washington and France, a former colonial power over the country. 

Blinken told reporters that there was no evidence that Moscow played any kind of role in the coup but said Russia’s Wagner mercenary group is clearly trying to exploit the instability. He warned junta leaders not to be intoxicated by Russia and said, “every single place that the Wagner group has gone, death, destruction have followed.”

The U.S. announced that it will attempt to starve the country and will pause some foreign assistance programs for the country. Blinken said the U.S. will hold the junta responsible for the welfare of the deposed president. 

Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman, said Bazoum has been held in isolation, and “it’s a situation that’s of growing concern to us.”

The Economic Coalition of West African States, or ECOWAS, said Thursday that it activated a multinational standby force, but still hoped for a “peaceful resolution.”

The Pentagon told Newsweek that “AFRICOM is monitoring the situation in Niger, and U.S. forces continue to take prudent force protection measures.”

Not all regional countries support outside intervention against the coup leaders. Guinea called on the 15-member ECOWAS to come to its senses. Burkina Faso and Mali, countries once under French colonial rule, have also spoken out against intervention and blasted sanctions as “illegal, illegitimate, and inhumane.”

“ECOWAS has weapons to attack Niger but not to kill the terrorists,” one protester told The Economist. “It’s a disgrace.”

French and U.S. troops have been stationed in the country under the auspices to fight Islamic terrorism in the Sahel. But more than 10,000 people have been killed in clashes in the past year and the public is growing tired of administrations unable to get a grip on the growing issue. The coup was fueled by the country’s desire to break from French and U.S. influence.

‘F-ck the EU’ Nuland to the Rescue

Victoria Nuland, Blinken’s newly minted deputy at the State Department, met with some junta leaders but was refused a meeting with Tiani.

Nuland called for the return of “constitutional order.”

“We understand our legal responsibilities and I explained those very clearly to the guys 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.  That’s all I can say at this point,” she said. 

She was asked about the possibility of Wagner forces taking more of a hold in the country. 

“You will have seen some boasting by [Evgeny] Prigozhin in St. Petersburg.  I will say that I got the sense in my meetings today that the people who have taken this action here understand very well the risks to their sovereignty when Wagner is invited in,” she said.

Prigozhin is the head of the mercenary group. He mocked Nuland’s statement, according to RT, the Russian news outlet.

“I am proud of the boys from Wagner. Just the thought of them makes ISIS and Al Qaeda small, obedient, silky boys. And the U.S. has recognized a government that it did not recognize yesterday just to avoid meeting the Wagner PMC in the country. This brings joy, Mrs. Nuland,” he said. 

TRENDPOST: Whatever Nuland touches, she breaks.

Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, mocked Nuland’s trip to Africa and compared it to her destabilizing visit to Ukraine in 2013 to overthrow the government and put in place its current “banana [republic-style] regime.”

“Victoria Nuland thought that in Niger it would work like in Ukraine: It will be enough to bring a cellophane bag full of cookies and play everyone for a fool. But, such a banana [republic-style] regime, like the one in Kyiv, cannot be found anywhere else,” Zakharova posted on Telegram, according to TASS, the Russian outlet. See:

● “WASHINGTON LOVES WARMONGERS. VICTORIA ‘FUCK THE EU’ NULAND GETS PROMOTION” (1 Aug 2023)

● “WWIII: VICTORIA ‘F-CK THE EU’ NULAND ADMITS THAT THE U.S. HAS BEEN HELPING UKRAINE PLAN FOR COUNTEROFFENSIVE” (30 May 2023) 

● “U.S. UNDER SEC. VICTORIA ‘FUCK THE EU’ NULAND CALLS CRIMEA A LEGITIMATE TARGET FOR UKRAINE, ANGERS KREMLIN” (21 Feb 2023)

● “VICTORIA “FUCK THE EU” NULAND WHO SPEARHEADED OVERTHROW OF DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE IN 2014, STILL IN POWER” (22 Feb 2022)

Bazoum was someone who the U.S. could control and had experience working with U.S. Special Forces in the country. (The Pentagon has about 1,100 troops in Niger.)

Nuland was asked what’s at stake in Niger if the junta turns its back on Washington.

Nuland said, “the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and security support for the people of Niger.”