The United States Designates the Overthrow of Niger's Government a “Coup d'Etat”

More than two months after the ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum, the United States announced in October 2023 that it had “concluded that a military coup d'etat has taken place in Niger.”¹ Nigerien soldiers had confined President Bazoum to the presidential palace on July 26, 2023, and declared that he had been removed from office due to “the deteriorating security situation and bad governance.”² That day, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken “call[ed] for [President Bazoum's] immediate release” and “condemn[ed] any effort to seize power by force.”³ But neither Secretary Blinken nor National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who “strongly condemn[ed] any effort to detain or subvert the functioning of Niger's democratically elected government, led by President Bazoum,” referred to the military's action as a “coup.”⁴ Under Section 7008 of the Foreign Assistance Act,⁵ that designation would have prohibited the United States from providing military assistance and other forms of aid to Niger, a critical partner in U.S. counterterrorism operations.⁶ Secretary Blinken warned that “[t]he very significant assistance that we have in place[—that] is making a material difference in the lives of the people of Niger[—]is clearly in jeopardy. And we've communicated that as clearly as we possibly can to those responsible for disrupting the constitutional order.”⁷ But neither the condemnations nor the warnings made by Secretary Blinken and other members of the administration were heeded by Niger's military rulers in July or in the months thereafter. With the determination in October that a coup had taken place, the prohibition on U.S. assistance kicked in.⁸ A few weeks later, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. notified Congress of his intention to terminate Niger's African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) benefits.⁹ Diplomatic efforts over the following months to reconcile the two countries failed. On March 17, 2024, the Nigerien regime announced that it was ending its cooperation with the U.S. military and ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops.¹⁰

Niger has been a key U.S. counterterrorism ally since the George W. Bush administration, with the U.S. role there expanding around 2013.¹¹ Over the following decade, Niger became the “largest recipient of State Department military assistance in West Africa and the second highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.”¹² U.S. operations in Niger (which, as of early 2023, reportedly included more than a thousand soldiers, three drone bases, and several other outposts) have been a critical part of U.S. efforts to fight against Al Qaeda- and Islamic State-affiliated groups in the Sahel.¹³ The United States has primarily operated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, supported Nigerien operations, and provided the Nigerien army with military training.¹⁴ The U.S. presence in Niger gained greater importance following coups in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso in 2021 and 2022 respectively and the resultant departure of French troops from those countries.¹⁵ In March 2023, ahead of Secretary Blinken's visit (the first by a sitting secretary of state to Niger),¹⁶ Molly Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, stated that Niger is “one of our most important partners on the continent in terms of security cooperation.”¹⁷ In addition to significant investment in the Nigerien military, Niger has also received substantial development and humanitarian aid from the United States, including a $442 million Sustainable Water and Agriculture Compact and a $302 million Regional Transport Compact with the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC).¹⁸

Valuing Niger's strategic military importance, the United States delayed labeling the military's deposal of President Bazoum a coup as a way of enticing the military to reverse its action. Others were not as patient. The European Union immediately cut off aid.¹⁹ The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) quickly imposed sanctions and threatened that it would “take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger . . . includ[ing] the use of force.”²⁰ The African Union suspended Niger.²¹ With delay not achieving the desired results, the United States in October switched tactics and called the takeover a “coup.”

With the coup designation, the U.S. government suspended its assistance²² to Niger pursuant to Section 7008.²³ State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the United States, as permitted by Section 7008, “will maintain . . . life-saving humanitarian, food, and health assistance to benefit the people of Niger.”²⁴ He noted that “[a]ny resumption of U.S. assistance will require action by the National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland [the military regime] to usher in democratic governance in a quick and credible timeframe.”²⁵ A few weeks after determining that the military takeover constituted a coup, President Biden terminated Niger's designation as a beneficiary country under AGOA.²⁶ In addition to Niger, Section 7008's prohibition currently applies to Burkina Faso,²⁷ Burma (Myanmar),²⁸ Gabon,²⁹ Guinea,³⁰ Mali,³¹ and Sudan.³²

Section 7008 does not prohibit the U.S. military from operating in Niger, and the United States sought to maintain its military operations there.³³ General Michael Langley, commander of the U.S. Africa Command, said in February that “[i]f we lose our footprint in the Sahel, that will degrade our ability to do active watching and warning, including for homeland defense.”³⁴ Discussions between the two governments culminated in an early March 2024 visit to Niger by Celeste Wallander, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Assistant Secretary Phee, and General Langley. The visit was intended to “continue ongoing discussions . . . regarding Niger's return to a democratic path and the future of our security and development partnership.”³⁵

It did not go well.³⁶ On March 16, the Nigerien government “denounc[ed] with immediate effect” Niger's military relationship with the United States, stating that “[t]he American presence on Niger's territory is illegal and violates all constitutional and democratic rules.”³⁷ On May 19, Niger and the United States announced that the countries “have reached a disengagement agreement to effect the withdrawal of U.S. forces” no later than September 15, 2024.³⁸ A senior U.S. defense official noted that the U.S. military is “very focused on . . .  ensuring that this withdrawal goes in as collegial and collaborative a manner as possible at the military to military level, because we know we're going to need the [Niger Armed Forces] and other components of the security services . . . , regardless of what our posture is. Because this is a region where there's quite a lot of terrorist activity.”³⁹ The departure of the U.S. military from Niger follows the withdrawal of French forces and the end of the EU Military Partnership Mission in Niger, both in December.⁴⁰ U.S. withdrawal from Niger marks the end of a decade-long counterterrorism strategy in West Africa.⁴¹ The United States is now looking to move its operations elsewhere in the region and is reconsidering its approach.⁴²