Commentary
The coup in Niger has implications for U.S. foreign policy in Africa and Europe.
On Aug. 7, the U.S. State Department announced they have had direct contact with the junta that seized control in Niger during the coup, but discussions are not going well. Coup leaders have refused to allow Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland to meet with the country’s deposed president, who is under house arrest.
Despite being a relatively small undeveloped country, Niger is crucial to U.S. foreign policy objectives in West Africa. A long history of military coups in the region had left Niger the only country with a democratically elected president.
When Mohamed Bazoum took office in 2021, it was the first peaceful transition of power since Niger gained independence from France in 1960. The United States supports democracy in the country, hoping that Niger could be a stabilizing influence on the other nations in the Sahel region.
The United States has relied on Niger as a counterterrorism terrorism partner. The United States, France, other Western nations, and the United Nations have troops stationed in the country to combat Islamic extremist groups, including Boko Haram, the ISIS terrorist group, and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). These groups have been responsible for 1,800 extremist attacks this year, resulting in nearly 4,600 deaths in Niger’s neighboring countries. Only 77 people were killed by terrorists in Niger—a fact attributable to the presence of U.S. and foreign troops.
Not only does the United States not want to lose Niger as a base of operations against terrorism, but there are also fears that the junta will adopt Russia’s Wagner Group as their security partner. The Kremlin has officially condemned the coup, while former Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who presumedly died in a recent plane crash, has celebrated it, saying that Niger has broken the bonds of French colonialism.
Shortly after the coup, Mr. Prigozhin offered his group’s assistance, and a coup representative held meetings with Wagner in Mali. The former military junta in control of Mali was kicked out by a U.N. peacekeeping mission in June, but now they are working with Wagner. Earlier this year, Burkina Faso expelled the French troops, choosing Wagner instead.
The junta in Niger is now demanding the withdrawal of foreign troops. Wagner’s presence will not only make it impossible for the United States to continue its partnership with Niger against terrorism but will also increase the risk of human rights abuse against citizens. In Mali, Wagner mercenaries have been accused of atrocities, with civilians accounting for four out of five fatalities caused by the group. Wagner has a similar record with civilians in the Central African Republic and Sudan.
The Niger coup also has implications for U.S. policy objectives in Europe. The United States and other Western nations have brought economic sanctions against Russia to decrease its revenues, making it difficult to sustain the war in Ukraine. However, Russia’s access to African minerals is one of the economic lifelines for the Kremlin. In Sudan and the Central African Republic, Wagner oversees gold extraction operations and provides the Kremlin with a source of revenue. Niger has large uranium deposits the junta has already threatened to stop selling to Europe. If Niger partners with Wagner, the Kremlin will get another boost in its natural resource portfolio.
The coup leaders have suspended the constitution, closed down government institutions, and arrested members of parliament and government officials. This has sparked sanctions from the West. Germany, France, the United States, and other countries have cut much of Niger’s aid.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), consisting of 15 West African nations, has also brought sanctions against Niger, including closing the country’s air and land borders, halting financial transactions and trade deals, and freezing its national assets held in ECOWAS banks.
Nigeria has also cut Niger’s electrical supply, leaving most of the country in darkness. Before the coup, nearly 43 percent of the population lived below the poverty line. Between mismanagement by coup leaders, foreign sanctions, and a possible war of intervention, a humanitarian crisis is sure to ensue.
The coup is causing countries to take sides as the alliances of a new cold war continue to develop. ECOWAS is in the Western camp, while Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso have expressed support for the coup and warned ECOWAS and third parties not to invade.
While the coup was in progress, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a two-day Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg under the banner of a “multipolar world.” Mr. Putin promised the attendee nations free grain to counter what he claimed was a Western lie about Russia cutting off Ukrainian grain to Africa. Only about 20 nations attended this year, which is half the number of attendees to the first summit in 2019. This shows how Mr. Putin’s war is polarizing the world. And the Niger coup is the next step in the polarization.
Among the nations that were promised free Russian grain were Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Mali, Somalia, and Zimbabwe. These countries have been under U.S. sanctions, and several have permitted Wagner operations. In his speech to the African delegates, Mr. Putin portrayed the United States and Western nations as colonizers while Russia was their friend and savior.
The Patriarch Kirill I of the Russian Orthodox Church also addressed the leaders, stating that Russia shared traditional values, such as the opposition to same-sex marriage and euthanasia, with African nations.
Some say the United States is losing Africa to China and Russia. A more accurate statement would be that the world is taking sides and shifting into the American/Western or Russia/China camps.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
