Niger Coup Raising Concerns In West
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NIAMEY (Worthy News) – The army of Niger, a key partner in the West’s fight against Islamist groups in west Africa, said Thursday it would offer no resistance against an armed coup, raising concerns among Western leaders.
Nigerien soldiers said Wednesday they toppled the country’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, with troops surrounding the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey.
Bazoum was elected in 2021 and took power in the first peaceful and democratic transition since Niger gained its independence from France in 1960.
The group seizing power, calling itself the Defense and Security Forces, said in a televised address to the nation they “decided to put an end to the regime.”
The coup put pressure on the United States, which has about 1,100 troops in Niger spread out at three outposts.
Soon after, smoke billowed as supporters of Niger’s security forces attacked the headquarters of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism of overthrown President Bazoum in Niamey, the capital.
US TRAINING
With tensions rising, American forces were on restricted movements in Niger, a country rich in natural resources that backed the West in its battle against Islamist extremists, U.S. officials said.
U.S. forces were training and supporting the Nigerien armed forces, specifically its Special Operations.
Washington was quick, however, to distance itself from the coup.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he spoke with Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum to discuss the crisis. Blinken said he told Bazoum that the U.S. “strongly supports him as the democratically elected president of the country.”
Bazoum had been effectively held hostage all day by members of the presidential guard, according to sources familiar with the situation.
The European Union shared U.S. concerns about the coup and the impact it could have on the number of migrants trying to reach EU nations through human smugglers.
CHRISTIANS CONCERNED
It wasn’t immediately clear what impact the coup could have on minority Christians who have complained of persecution in the Muslim-majority African nation.
“Islam is regarded as being part of Nigerien ethnicity: If you are a Nigerien, you are a Muslim,” said advocacy group Open Doors.
“Conversion from Islam to any religion is considered a betrayal, and converts to Christianity face hostility from their family and community,” it added.
Open Doors noted that Christian converts “may be rejected by their families, chased out of the family home or put under house arrest. Many converts are denied their inheritance rights as a form of punishment for leaving Islam.”
Open Doors says it “works through partners in Niger to strengthen persecuted Christians through economic empowerment programs, leadership, and discipleship training.
It also supports “persecution survival training and pastoral care for new believers” in the turbulent nation of some 25 million people.
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