Military chiefs from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) arrived Wednesday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, for two days of meetings to discuss last week’s coup in Niger. Meanwhile, the United States joined several European nations in evacuating their nationals.  

ECOWAS said in a brief statement that the Committee of Chiefs of Defense Staff would discuss the “political situation in the Republic of Niger” in their meetings through Friday.  ECOWAS has set a deadline of Sunday for President Mohamed Bazoum’s return to power. Otherwise, it will consider the use of force.    

“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, according to Reuters.   

“There is a need to demonstrate that we cannot only bark but can bite,” he told reporters on Wednesday in Abuja. 

ECOWAS also sent a delegation on Wednesday to Niger’s capital, Niamey, for talks with junta members.  

ECOWAS also has imposed sanctions on Niger that include cutting energy transmissions to the impoverished country of 25 million people, which imports nearly all of its electricity. Neighboring Nigeria has since stopped sending electricity to Niger, but it is unclear how much of Niger’s electricity that represents. 

General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who declared himself the new head of state, said in a televised address that the junta “rejects these sanctions altogether and refuses to give into any threats, wherever they come from. We refuse any interference in the internal affairs of Niger.” 

US raises travel advisory

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday it is ordering the “temporary departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members from the U.S. Embassy in Niamey.” It also raised its travel advisory to Level 4 – Do Not Travel – for Niger.

France’s military and foreign ministry continued on Wednesday to evacuate people from Niger. The foreign ministry said about 1,000 people have left Niger on four flights and a fifth flight is under way. The evacuees include French nationals along with people from Niger, Portugal, Belgium, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Germany, Canada, India, Austria and the United States. 

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani shared a photo of an Italian air force plane that he said landed early Wednesday with Italians who left Niger. Spain also said it planned an evacuation flight for its nationals.  

Military leaders put Bazoum under house arrest on July 26 and named Tchiani, commander of the presidential guard, as their new leader on Monday. Coup leaders said they were acting in response to what they described as a worsening security situation and the government’s lack of action against jihadis.     

The coup has been condemned by Western countries, including the U.S., which says it stands with Nigeriens, ECOWAS and the African Union as it continues to work to roll back the coup, U.S. officials say. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by telephone Tuesday with Bazoum and expressed “unwavering support” for him and Niger’s democracy, the State Department said.  

In another call with African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, the State Department said Blinken and Mahamat reiterated calls for Bazoum’s immediate release.  

“This attempt of coup has no reason whatsoever, and it has to stop, it has to fade,” said Mamadou Liman-Tinguiri, Niger’s ambassador to the U.S. “But it will have consequences, if we let it go. Consequences are those that will come from the cutting of all influx of cash we are receiving from outside…”   

US aid  

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Washington is still assessing the situation and had yet to decide whether to pull its military assistance from Niger, a key counterterrorism ally in the region.    

“Our hope, and what we are working on, is that the military will stand down and allow President Bazoum to resume his authority,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters.    

On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the reported arrest of several members of Niger’s government. Guterres’ spokesman said the U.N. chief is urgently calling for the strict adherence to the country’s international human rights obligations and the prompt restoration of constitutional order.    

Spokesman Farhan Haq said the U.N. and its humanitarian partners are committed to remaining in Niger and continuing their work. More than 4 million people in the country require humanitarian assistance.    

Regional tensions    

Burkina Faso and Mali, two of Niger’s neighbors operating under military governments, issued a joint statement Monday saying any military action against Niger would be considered “a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali.”    

Guinea, another neighboring junta-led country, expressed its opposition to the ECOWAS sanctions and the possibility of military intervention.    

Guterres’ West Africa envoy, Leonardo Santos Simao said the priority is to find a peaceful solution to the situation.    

He also raised concerns that if the situation is not reversed, terrorism, which is rampant in the Sahel region, could spread further.    

Margaret Besheer reported from the United Nations. Abdourahmane Dia of VOA’s French to Africa service contributed to this report. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. 
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Military chiefs from the West African bloc ECOWAS are holding talks in Nigeria Wednesday about last week’s coup in Niger. Earlier this week, the regional economic bloc set a deadline for junta leaders to restore ousted president Mohamed Bazoum or face a possible military intervention.  The warning prompted a sharp counter-warning from two of Niger’s neighbors who also have leaders that came to power in coups.

With four days left until a deadline to return power to Niger’s democratically-elected president Mohamed Bazoum, and Niger’s neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso warning against any military intervention, tensions couldn’t be higher in the Sahel this week.

Nassirou Seydou is the head of the Voice of the Voiceless, a human rights organization. Speaking to VOA from Niger’s capital, Niamey, he said he doesn’t think ECOWAS will intervene militarily because they didn’t do it in Burkina Faso or Mali during recent coups.

He said dialogue should take center stage in situations like these. The security concerns the new [coup] leaders gave as reasons… in the zones of Tillaberi, Diffa and other places where they believe the Bazoum government has not been very effective …that’s the reason,” he said, “why the military in Burkina Faso and Mali are also convinced that the security situation in the Liptako-gourma could only be improved with the combined efforts of those three armies.”

The Liptako-gourma is an area in the central Sahel region that falls in eastern Burkina Faso, southwestern Niger, and a portion of southeast central Mali.

In 2021, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sounded the alarm about a crisis there caused by increasing competition for resources, climatic disruption, high levels of poverty and violence caused by organized crime networks and non-state armed groups.

But given tensions with Niger’s current partners like France and the United States, Seydou said, the new military leaders might turn to other powers for help in that region.

 

With the high tensions between Niger and France, between the military and the French presidency, the situation is not favorable for continued relations, he said, “especially when it comes to France and its allies helping Niger get out of the situation. So, he says, he Niger military doesn’t have a choice but look elsewhere.”

France and the European Union suspended aid to Niger after last week’s coup. France, whose embassy was attacked recently by coup supporters, has started evacuating some of its citizens and the citizens of other nations out of Niger.

ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, also imposed sanctions. But Guinea, whose leader Mamady Doumbouya recently came to power through a coup, denounced that measure.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he spoke to Niger President Bazoum late Tuesday and reiterated the United States’ and its partners’ support for democratic governance.

The U.S. recently granted $504 million to finance an infrastructure regional project connecting Niamey and the Benin port city of Cotonou. That, along with other projects, could be affected, said Michael Shurkin, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and the director of global programs at 14 North strategies, an Africa-focused business advisory group.

“The truth remains that Tchiani, the coup leader is putting all of this in jeopardy. He’s put all the U.S. aid in jeopardy. He’s already lost the French’s budget support. The French have cut their aid, the U.S. might eventually cut its aid, U.S. probably will cut security assistance.”

While some say the international community’s responses to the coup are highly appropriate, Shurkin said the cutoff in aid might have other consequences. 

“Six months from now, if the French are gone out of the area, the Americans are packing up, the E.U. is packing up, realistically, and the economy is tanking, I see the Nigerien leader will play populous politics, step up the anti-French rhetoric and reach out to the Russians, this all seems very plausible to me.”

For now, all eyes are on Niger as the deadline to return power to Bazoum draws near.
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Syrian refugees in Somalia haven’t given up on their dreams to return home, as they struggle as refugees in Somalia. Abdulkadir Zubeyr has more from Mogadishu in this report narrated by Salem Solomon. Sirwan Kajjo contributed to this report. Produced by: Bakhtiyar Zamanov
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Thousands of refugees fleeing Darfur to neighboring Chad to escape fighting and ethnically targeted attacks in Sudan’s western region are struggling to secure basic shelter and supplies as heavy rains and winds batter makeshift camps.

The United Nations estimates over 300,000 fled from Darfur to Chad since April 15 when fighting between Sudan’s army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out in the capital of Khartoum.

Islam, one of the roughly 33,000 refugees in the camp in Chad’s Ourang, pleaded for shelter from the relentless rain as she stood in front of destroyed tents.

“Please provide us with a shelter as soon as possible. This is humiliating. Anyone in here lost three or four people and came here with nothing to eat or drink,” she said as tears streamed down her face.

Some now stay in flimsy tarpaulin tents brought down easily by the rain, others bundle themselves in blankets to stay warm.

The onset of the rainy season makes it harder for aid agencies operating in Chad to provide for refugees arriving on foot or donkey carts, with each flare of clashes prompting more to cross the border. 

A recent attack on the west Darfur town on Sirba killed more than 200 people and made thousands more flee, according to the Darfur Bar Association.

Those who fled Darfur reported shortages of food, electricity, and water supply amid violence in residential areas.

“It was not safe to move around, there was nothing to eat in the market. So, we came with our kids and came here, and we found that the road is worse,” Mohamed Ibrahim told Reuters. 
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The United Nations chief on Monday welcomed Kenya’s offer to “positively consider” leading a multinational police force to help combat Haiti’s gangs and improve security in the violence-wracked Caribbean nation. 

Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry urgently appealed last October for “the immediate deployment of a specialized armed force, in sufficient quantity” to stop the gangs. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been appealing unsuccessfully since then for a lead nation to help restore order to Latin America’s most impoverished country. 

Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that its offer included a commitment to send 1,000 police to help train and assist the Haitian National Police to “restore normalcy in the country and protect strategic installations.” The ministry said it was responding to a request from the Friends of Haiti group of nations. 

“Kenya stands with persons of African descent across the world, including those in the Caribbean, and aligns with the African Union’s diaspora policy and our own commitment to Pan Africanism, and in this case to ‘reclaiming of the Atlantic crossing,'” the ministry said. 

Haiti’s gangs have grown in power since the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moise and are now estimated to control up to 80% of the capital. The surge in killings, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by civilian vigilante groups. 

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Guterres welcomed “Kenya’s positive response to his call” and expressed gratitude to Kenya for its “solidarity.” 

The secretary-general calls on the U.N. Security Council to support a non-U.N. multinational operation in Haiti “and encourages member states, particularly from the region, to join forces from Kenya” in supporting the country’s police, Haq said. 

Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said its proposed deployment would crystallize once the Security Council adopted a resolution giving a mandate for the force, and once other Kenyan constitutional processes were undertaken. 

A Kenyan task force plans to undertake an assessment mission to Haiti within the next few weeks that “will inform and guide the mandate and operational requirements of the mission,” it said. 

Guterres, who visited Haiti in early July, called afterward for a robust international force to help the Haitian National Police “defeat and dismantle the gangs.” 

He said the estimate by the U.N. independent expert for Haiti, William O’Neill, that up to 2,000 additional anti-gang police officers were needed was no exaggeration. O’Neill, who concluded a 10-day trip to Haiti in July, is an American lawyer who has been working on Haiti for over 30 years and helped establish the Haitian National Police in 1995. 

The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on July 14 asking Guterres to come up with “a full range of options” within 30 days to help combat Haiti’s armed gangs, including a non-U.N. multinational force, a possible U.N. peacekeeping force, additional training for the Haitian National Police and support to combat illegal arms trafficking to the country. 

Compounding the gang warfare, which has spread outside the capital, is the country’s political crisis: Haiti was stripped of all democratically elected institutions when the terms of the country’s remaining 10 senators expired in early January. 

The Security Council resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and Ecuador, “strongly urges” all countries to prohibit the supply, sale or transfer of weapons to anyone supporting gang violence and criminal activities. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Kenyan President William Ruto on Monday, and their talk touched on Kenya’s positive consideration of leading a multinational force in Haiti, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. 

The United States takes over the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council for August on Tuesday, and Miller said the U.S. and Ecuador, as a first step, were going to introduce a resolution to authorize a non-U.N. multinational mission. 

The second step is an assessment mission by Kenya, “which they plan to do in the coming days,” and then there will be talks with other countries about what additional assistance is needed, he said. 

“We are committed to finding the resources to support this multinational force,” Miller said. “We’ve been a large humanitarian donor to relief efforts in Haiti for some time, and we have worked behind the scenes to find the lead nation to run this multinational force and are pleased that that has been successful.”
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West African nations have given Niger one week to return to civilian rule following the recent coup there and threatened measures including the use of force unless coup leaders return ousted President Mohamed Bazoum to power. The situation complicates the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region.

Confidence MacHarry is a Nigeria-based geopolitical security analyst. He says that the region has lost a key ally who has been serious about the fight against terrorists and extreme groups.

“These guys who launched the coup are senior officers who are far removed from actual fighting,” said MacHarry. “Actual fighting differs from other southern parts of Niger. So, on one hand, the region has lost an important ally in Bazoum in the fight against armed groups. There is not much the new military guys can do in that regard.”

The coup leaders say they acted in response to what they termed Niger’s worsening security situation and lack of action against jihadists.

President Bazoum’s overthrow has raised questions about the fight against al-Qaida and Islamic State in the Sahel region. Experts say the terror groups are gaining ground in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger.

The foreign forces pulling out of these countries are leaving a security gap that terror groups exploit, says David Otto, head of security and defense analysis with the Geneva Center for Africa Security and Strategic Studies.

“When you have forces that are engaged in counterinsurgency and withdraw those forces, the expectation is that you have to replace them,” said Otto. “If you do not replace them, you create an operational gap in the areas of operation so it means that the forces that will be withdrawn will not be immediately replaced. What is happening, for example, in the case of the Niger Republic, is that there will be a consolidation of power by the military. They will not have time to redeploy their forces. The impact could be dire.”

In May, Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, a Ghanian diplomat at the United Nations, said the security situation in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger was deteriorating and that armed groups were persistent in launching attacks against both civilians and the military.

According to the Global Terrorism Index, a yearly study conducted by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace, the Sahel region recorded 2,880 deaths out of a total of 6,701 global deaths from terrorism in 2022.

Niger’s military leadership has been threatened with sanctions, military invasion and suspension of government funding.

Otto says sanctions and suspension of aid will empower insurgent groups to carry out more regional attacks.

“Resources are quite key, so the junta has to find alternative resources to be able to relocate its strategy to deal with these jihadist groups and it takes time so that also creates a level of vulnerability, so it’s a win-win for the jihadists while this chaos takes place in the short and medium term,” said Otto. “But in the long term we are still left to see these governments that are popping through military coups will be able to deal with it in the battlefield.”

The call for the military leadership to cede power and restore democracy has grown as Bazoum was seen in Chad Sunday, his first public appearance since the coup last week.

The call for the military leadership to cede power and restore democracy has grown as Bazoum was seen in Chad Sunday, his first public appearance since the coup last week.
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Haiti has welcomed “with great interest” a Kenyan offer to lead a 1,000-strong multinational force to bolster security in the violence-torn Caribbean country.

“Haiti appreciates this expression of African solidarity,” a statement from Foreign Minister Jean Victor Geneus said Sunday, “and looks forward to welcoming Kenya’s proposed evaluation mission.” 

Kenya announced Saturday that it was prepared to deploy 1,000 police agents to help train and support their Haitian counterparts in combating the violent gangs that have taken control of much of capital Port-au-Prince.

“Kenya has accepted to positively consider leading a Multi-National Force to Haiti,” said the Kenyan statement, posted by Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua. 

A Kenyan-led deployment would still require a mandate from the United Nations Security Council, as well as formal agreement by local authorities.

The council has asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to present by mid-August a report on possible options for Haiti, including a U.N.-led mission.

U.S. diplomats have been actively seeking a country to head a multinational force.

Mutua said Kenya would send an “evaluation mission” to Haiti in coming weeks.

Kenya, seen as a democratic anchor in East Africa, has participated in peacekeeping operations in its own region, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

Gangs in Haiti control roughly 80% of Port-au-Prince, and violent crimes including kidnappings for ransom, carjackings, rapes and armed thefts are common.

With a weak government and its security forces overwhelmed, the country — the poorest Western Hemisphere nation — has seen compounding humanitarian, political and security crises. 

Both Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the U.N.’s Guterres have for nearly a year called for an international intervention. Up to now, no country had stepped forward.

A U.N. peacekeeping mission was in operation in Haiti from 2004 to 2017 but fell out of favor after a cholera outbreak traced to infected UN personnel from Nepal claimed 9,500 lives.  

This week, the United States ordered nonessential embassy personnel and their families to leave Haiti as soon as possible.

On Thursday, a young American nurse and her infant child were kidnapped in Haiti, according to the Christian aid group for which she works.
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Thousands of supporters of the junta that took over Niger in a coup last week marched Sunday through the streets of the capital, Niamey, waving Russian flags, chanting the name of the Russian president and forcefully denouncing former colonial power France.

The protesters marched through the city to the French Embassy, where a door was lit on fire, according to someone who was at the embassy when it happened, and videos seen by The AP. Black smoke could be seen rising from across the city. The Nigerien army broke up the crowd of protesters.

Russian mercenary group Wagner is already operating in neighboring Mali, and Russian President Vladimir Putin would like to expand his country’s influence in the region. However, it is unclear yet whether the new junta leaders will move toward Moscow or stick with Niger’s Western partners.

On Sunday at an emergency meeting in Abjua, Nigeria the West African bloc said it was suspending relations with Niger and authorized the use of force if the president was not reinstated within a week.

“In the event the authorities’ demands are not met within one week, take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. Such measures may include the use of force. To this effect, the chiefs of defense staff of ECOWAS are to meet immediately,” Omar Alieu Touray, president of the ECOWAS commission, said after the meeting.

Days after the coup, uncertainty is mounting about Niger’s future, with some calling out the junta’s reasons for seizing control.

President Mohamed Bazoum was democratically elected two years ago in Niger’s first peaceful transfer of power since independence from France in 1960.

The mutineers said they overthrew him because he wasn’t able to secure the nation against growing jihadi violence.

But some analysts and Nigeriens say that’s just a pretext for a takeover that is more about internal power struggles than securing the nation.

“Everybody is wondering: why this coup? That’s because no one was expecting it. We couldn’t expect a coup in Niger because there’s no social, political or security situation that would justify that the military take the power,” Prof. Amad Hassane Boubacar, who teaches at the University of Niamey, told The Associated Press.

He said Bazoum wanted to replace the head of the presidential guard, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, who is now in charge of the country. Tchiani, who also goes by Omar, was loyal to Bazoum’s predecessor and that sparked the problems, Boubacar said. The AP cannot independently verify his assessment.

While Niger’s security situation is dire, it’s not as bad as neighboring Burkina Faso or Mali, which have also been battling an Islamic insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Last year, Niger was the only one of the three to see a decline in violence, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

Niger had been seen as the last reliable partner for the West in efforts to battle the jihadis in Africa’s Sahel region, where Russia and Western countries have vied for influence. France has 1,500 soldiers in the country who conduct joint operations with the Nigeriens. The United States and other European countries have helped train the nation’s troops.

Regional bodies, including the West African economic bloc ECOWAS, have denounced the coup. Some taking part in Sunday’s rally warned them to stay away. “I would like also to say to the European Union, African Union and ECOWAS, please, please stay out of our business,” said Oumar Barou Moussa, who was at the demonstration.

“It’s time for us to take our lives, to work for ourselves. It’s time for us to talk about our freedom and liberty. We need to stay together, we need to work together, we need to have our true independence,” he said.

Conflict experts say out of all the countries in the region, Niger has the most at stake if it turns away from the West, given the millions of dollars of military assistance the international community has poured in. On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the continued security and economic arrangements that Niger has with the U.S. hinged on the release of Bazoum — who remains under house arrest — and “the immediate restoration of the democratic order in Niger.”

On Sunday, France’s President, Emmanuel Macron said attacks on France and its interests would not be tolerated. Anyone who attacked French nationals, the army, diplomats and French authorities would see an immediate response, he said.

Macron said he’d spoken to Bazoum and his predecessor as Nigerien President, Mahamadou Issoufou, hours earlier, who both condemned the coup and appealed for calm.

The attack follows France’s move Saturday to suspend all development and financial aid for Niger.

The African Union has issued a 15-day ultimatum to the junta in Niger to reinstall the country’s democratically elected government. ECOWAS is holding an emergency summit Sunday in Abuja, Nigeria.

The 15-nation ECOWAS bloc has unsuccessfully tried to restore democracies in nations where the military took power in recent years. Four nations are run by military regimes in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.

If ECOWAS imposes economic sanctions on Niger, which is what normally happens during coups, it could have a deep impact on Nigeriens, who live in the third-poorest country in the world, according to the latest U.N. data.
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Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has expressed hope for a return to normality and reopening of borders with North African neighbor Algeria, which cut diplomatic ties nearly two years ago.

“We pray to the Almighty for a return to normality and a reopening of the borders between our two neighboring countries and our brotherly peoples,” Mohammed VI, 59, said late Saturday in a speech to mark the anniversary of his accension to the throne in 1999.

The borders have been closed since 1994, leaving families divided after Morocco accused its neighbor of involvement in a jihadist attack on a Marrakesh hotel that killed two tourists. Algeria then sealed the frontiers.

Since then, tensions have persisted between the regional rivals, exacerbated by their dispute over Western Sahara, where the Algiers-backed Polisario Front is seeking independence from Rabat’s rule and has declared the territory a “war zone.”

Algeria severed ties in August 2021, accusing Rabat of “hostile acts,” a move which Morocco said was “completely unjustified.”

Israel’s recognition earlier this month of “Morocco’s sovereignty” over Western Sahara added to tensions between Morocco and Algeria, which called Israel’s move a “flagrant violation of international law.”

In his nationally broadcast speech Saturday, Mohammed VI expressed reassurance to “our brothers in Algeria, their leadership and their people that they will never have to fear malice from Morocco.”

The king calls annually for a rapprochement with Algeria.

 
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NAIROBI, KENYA | Kenya is ready to lead a multinational force in Haiti and will deploy 1,000 police officers to the strife-torn Caribbean nation once its offer is accepted, the foreign minister said Saturday.

Gangs control about 80% of the Haitian capital, and violent crimes such as kidnappings for ransom, armed robbery and carjackings are common.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry have for nearly a year sought international intervention to help support the police, but no country had stepped forward.

“Kenya has accepted to positively consider leading a Multi-National Force to Haiti,” Kenya’s Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua said in a statement late Saturday.

“Kenya’s commitment is to deploy a contingent of 1,000 police officers to help train and assist Haitian police restore normalcy in the country and protect strategic installations,” the statement said.

Its proposed deployment still required a mandate from the U.N. Security Council and approval from domestic authorities, he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone Friday night to Kenyan President William Ruto, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Kenya is seen as a democratic anchor in East Africa and has participated in peacekeeping operations in its immediate region including in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

No other details about the Haiti deployment were immediately available.

Spiraling violence

Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation, has seen compounding humanitarian, political and security crises, with gangs controlling most of Port-au-Prince.

Guterres said this month that violence had continued “to escalate and spread,” citing killings, kidnappings, rape of women and girls, looting, and the displacement of thousands of people.

Guterres, relaying a request from Henry, began calling in October for an international, non-U.N. deployment to help support police in the troubled nation.

The Security Council this month adopted a unanimous resolution encouraging member states “to provide security support to the Haitian National Police,” including through “the deployment of a specialized force.”

But the text, which was focused on a one-year extension of the mandate for the special U.N. political mission to Haiti, BINUH, stopped short of making any direct plans for such a force.

The council has asked Guterres to present by mid-August a report on all possible options, including a U.N.-led mission.

Earlier this month, Blinken said the U.S. remained active in its search for a country to head a multinational force in Haiti.

This week, Washington ordered nonessential personnel and family members of government employees to leave the country.

Staff at the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince already live under tight security — confined to a protected residential area and forbidden to walk around the capital or use any public transport or taxis.
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NIAMEY, Niger — The European Union has cut off financial support to Niger, and the United States has threatened to do the same after military leaders this week announced they had overthrown the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, receiving close to $2 billion a year in official development assistance, according to the World Bank.

It is also a key security partner of Western countries such as France and the United States, which use it as a base for their efforts to contain an Islamist insurgency in West and Central Africa’s Sahel region. Previously seen as the most stable country among several unstable neighbors, Niger is the world’s seventh-biggest producer of uranium.

Niger’s foreign allies so far have refused to recognize the new military government led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani, previously head of the presidential guard, who officers declared head of state on Friday.

Bazoum has not been heard from since early Thursday when he was confined within the presidential palace, although the European Union, France and others say they still recognize him as the legitimate president.

“In addition to the immediate cessation of budget support, all cooperation actions in the domain of security are suspended indefinitely with immediate effect,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Niger is a key partner of the European Union in helping curb the flow of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. The EU also has a small number of troops in Niger for a military training mission.

The EU allocated $554 million from its budget to improve governance, education and sustainable growth in Niger over 2021-2024, according to its website.

The United States has two military bases in Niger with some 1,100 soldiers, and it also provides hundreds of millions of dollars to the country in security and development aid.

“The very significant assistance that we have in place for people in Niger is clearly in jeopardy,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. U.S. support depends on the continuation of democratic governance, he said.

The United Nations said the coup has not affected its deliveries of humanitarian aid.

It is unclear how much support the military junta has among Niger’s population. Some crowds came out in support of Bazoum on Wednesday, but the following day coup supporters were demonstrating in the streets.

The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, will hold an emergency summit in Nigeria on Sunday to discuss the situation.

After an emergency meeting on Friday, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council issued a statement demanding the military return to their barracks and restore constitutional order within 15 days. It did not say what would happen after that.
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NIAMEY, Niger — General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the chief of Niger’s powerful presidential guard who took power after a military coup, is an army veteran who has foiled similar uprisings in the restive West African nation.

In his 50s, Tchiani has shunned the limelight despite a stellar military career that saw him lead the elite 700-member unit from 2011 until now.

“He is not well known outside military circles. He is a man in the background, powerful,” said Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, a researcher with the International Crisis Group think tank.

On Friday, Tchiani declared himself leader after staging a takeover that began on Wednesday when his presidential guards seized President Mohamed Bazoum and sequestered him in the presidential palace.

Niger is an abysmally poor nation but has vast deposits of uranium. It has suffered four coups since independence from France in 1960 along with several other failed putsch attempts. It is currently in the throes of jihadist violence like its neighbors.

Bazoum — a key ally of the West in fighting militancy in sub-Saharan Africa — was the first elected leader to succeed another since independence.

Tchiani is a staunch ally of former President Mahamadou Issoufou, Bazoum’s predecessor, who appointed him head of the presidential guards in 2011.

Bazoum kept Tchiani in the job after taking over from Issoufou, who served two terms, but relations between the general and Bazoum deteriorated in past months, according to sources close to the ousted leader.

They told AFP that Bazoum had been considering replacing Tchiani as the head of the presidential guard.

Tchiani, meanwhile, began shunning “official ceremonies and activities” of the president and sent his deputy, Colonel Ibroh Amadou Bacharou, also a member of the new junta, to represent him, a source close to Bazoum said.

Another source close to the deposed leader said Tchiani’s replacement was due to be decided at a Cabinet meeting last Monday.

Tchiani is originally from Filingue, an arid zone about 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of the capital, Niamey.

It lies in the volatile Tillaberi region, which has borne the brunt of jihadist attacks in past years.

Tillaberi has been repeatedly attacked for nearly eight years by insurgents linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group as well as jihadists from neighboring Nigeria.

The vast area, roughly the size of South Korea, has around 150,000 internally displaced people, according to the United Nations.

Tchiani’s critics say he is a controversial figure, but those close to him describe him as “brave” and “popular.”

“How could he have led his men in the putsch if they didn’t have confidence in him?” said Issa Abdou, a figure in civil society.

A government official said Tchiani, under Issoufou’s orders, had “transformed the presidential guard into a powerful machine equipped with sophisticated weapons.”

Tchiani has in the past quashed several coup bids, notably in 2021 and 2022.

“General Tchiani is an officer who has proven himself on the ground,” said former soldier Amadou Bounty Diallo.

Senior officers, including Salifou Mody, the former chief of staff of the armed forces who was sacked in April, are part of the new junta.
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