The United States and its partners are communicating with military leaders in Niger, a State Department spokesperson said on Friday, as Washington warned a military takeover could end U.S. cooperation with the nation.
Coup leaders in Niger on Friday declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as the new head of state following the seventh military takeover in West and Central Africa in less than three years.
"This is a fluid and evolving situation. Military leaders from ECOWAS nations and international partners including the United States are in communication with a broad array of military leaders in Niger," the State Department spokesperson said.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Washington condemned any effort to seize power by force, warning a military takeover could cause the U.S. to stop security and other cooperation with Niger.
The country in Africa's semi-arid Sahel region is a key partner in Washington's fight against Islamist insurgents. U.S. military personnel have been training local forces to fight militant groups.
The Biden administration has also held up Niger as a democratic success story in the region.
"A military takeover may cause the United States to cease security and other cooperation with the government of Niger, jeopardizing existing security and non-security partnerships," Kirby said, saying the U.S. was "deeply concerned" about developments in Niger.
U.S. law on foreign aid prohibits most assistance to any country where the elected head of government has been deposed in a coup or by decree, unless the Secretary of State determines that providing aid is in the national security interest of the United States.
So far in fiscal year 2023, the U.S. has provided nearly $138 million in humanitarian assistance for vulnerable populations in Niger, the State Department spokesperson said.
The United States between fiscal year 2017 and 2022 allocated $387 million in bilateral health and development assistance for State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development programming.
Over the same period, the U.S. committed $281 million in security assistance for counterterrorism operations, law enforcement, justice institutions and other uses, the spokesperson said.
There are about 1,100 U.S. troops in Niger, where the U.S. military operates from two bases. The Pentagon on Friday said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was closely monitoring events.
"At this time, there have been no changes in U.S. force posture nor has DoD received any formal requests for assistance," a Department of Defense spokesperson said.
Late on Thursday the Senate confirmed a new U.S. ambassador to Niger, career foreign service officer Kathleen FitzGibbon, nearly a year after she was nominated.
The State Department spokesperson said there was no announcement about when she would travel to Niger.
