“They May Push Us to That Point”: US Sends Strong Warning to Niger Coup Plotters
- The United States of America may be pushed to involve the military in the Niger Republic over the recent coup
- The acting deputy secretary of the US, Victoria Nuland, said the military might be the option if the coup plotters fail to return the country to a democratic government
- Nuland disclosed that the US government is in touch with the ECOWAS Chairman, President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria
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Niamey, Niger Republic - The United States of America has issued a serious warning to the coup plotters in Niger Republic.
The acting deputy secretary of the US, Victoria Nuland, said America may be pushed into using the military if the coup plotters don’t return to democratic government.
Source: Getty Images
Nuland stated this during a teleconference with journalists from Niamey, the capital of Niger Republic, on Tuesday, August 8
US sends strong warning to Niger coup plotters
According to a press release issued on the US Department of State website, she said:
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“…there is still a lot of motion here on many sides with regard to where the governance situation will go. So we will be watching that closely and there are a number of regional meetings coming up and consultations with allies and partners that we need to make.
"So we’ll be watching the situation, but we understand our legal responsibilities and I explained those very clearly to the guys who were responsible for this and that it is not our desire to go there, but they may push us to that point, and we asked them to be prudent in that regard and to hear our offer to try to work with them to solve this diplomatically and return to constitutional order. That’s all I can say at this point.”
She added that the United States had given the Niger coup plotters several options to keep talking and hoped the junta take America upon that.
However, Nuland said the junta have their ideals about going forward, but:
“...their ideals do not comport with the constitution, and that will be difficult in terms of our relationship if that’s the path they take.”
Nuland disclosed that the US secretary, Antony Blinken, has regularly contacted the ECOWAS Chairman, President Bola Tinubu, the AU Chairperson and several European allies.
Coup D'état: Nigeria orders fresh sanctions on Niger Republic, details emerge
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Federal Republic of Nigeria had ordered fresh financial sanctions on entities and individuals related to and involved with the coup plotters in Niger Republic.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, Media, and Public Affairs, Ajuri Ngelale, said the sanction through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was meted out on the coup plotters in the Niger Republic by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) heads of states.
Anxiety as Niger Military Junta Appoints New Prime Minister
Legit.ng also reported that Niger Republic's military coup leaders had made a new announcement regarding a change in the country's helm of affairs.
On Monday, August 7, the military junta announced the appointment of Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine as prime minister.
Niger Republic Breaks Off Ties With Nigeria
The junta in the Niger Republic has cut off ties with Nigeria after the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) efforts to resolve the ongoing impasse failed.
The delegation led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) only met with representatives of the junta on Thursday, August 3.
Source: Legit.ng
