Pentagon Is Keeping US Troops in Niger Even as Coup Leaders Show No Sign of Relenting

The Pentagon is not only keeping U.S. troops in place in Niger but pointing to their presence as a vote of confidence in the people of the West African nation, even as hope for a restoration of the democratically elected government begins to dwindle.

"We're going to continue to engage from a military standpoint," Sabrina Singh, a Defense Department spokeswoman, told reporters at a briefing Tuesday. "I think the fact that our force posture has not changed sends a message that we're committed to the region, we're committed to Niger."

The country has been a partner in the U.S. efforts against terror groups in the region -- including the location of an American drone base -- but was thrown into turmoil last month when its military rose up and deposed the first democratically elected and seated president in decades, leaving the future uncertain.

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"We are hopeful that there will be a diplomatic resolution to this attempted coup that took place in Niger," Singh said, notably referring to the situation as an "attempted coup."

Pentagon officials have been cautious about using the term "coup" since it carries legal implications for U.S. foreign policy and military assistance.

The Pentagon statement comes less than a day after a top State Department official gave a grim assessment of the situation in the African nation after having met with the leaders of the military junta that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum from power two weeks ago. The news became public in the early hours of July 27.

"These conversations were extremely frank and at times quite difficult," Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland told reporters on a call Monday.

Nuland said she met with the leader of the junta -- Brig. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou -- as well as three colonels supporting him.

"They are quite firm in their view on how they want to proceed, and it does not comport with the constitution of Niger," Nuland said.

Meanwhile, French news outlet Le Monde reported Tuesday that the junta led by Barmou has begun to consolidate power in the country by appointing its own prime minister and several top military officers to key government posts.

Singh stressed that the U.S. does not want to "abandon Nigeriens that we've partnered with that we've trained with over many years," before adding that "Niger is, of course, an important ally within the region when it comes to counterterrorism and other operations."

However, one of the beneficiaries of this training has been Barmou himself.

Nuland noted that he "is somebody who has worked very closely with U.S. Special Forces over many, many years." Several media outlets, including The New York Times, reported that Barmou was trained at Fort Benning, Georgia (now renamed Fort Moore), and that he attended the National Defense University -- self-described as the "nation's premier joint professional military education institution" -- in Washington, D.C.

The Pentagon even released images of Barmou meeting with and embracing the head of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, less than two months ago.

"So, we were able to go through, in considerable detail, the risks to aspects of our cooperation that he has historically cared about a lot," Nuland told reporters.

Meanwhile, the role of the Wagner group -- a cadre of mercenaries controlled by the Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin -- continues to remain an unsubstantiated but ever present worry among U.S. officials.

Singh said that the Pentagon continues to see the mercenary group "trying to take responsibility for activities that happen within Africa," but she was quick to add that officials "have seen no indications they have anything to do with the events in Niger and have not seen any assistance so far flown in from Wagner forces."

Nuland said she raised the topic of the mercenary group with Barmou but added that she "would not say that we learned much more about their thinking on that front."

Meanwhile, Singh did say that the Pentagon's continued presence in the country is heavily contingent on American citizens and service members being safe from harm.

"If their lives are at risk, of course, we're going to make that change and, of course, we will address that," Singh said.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

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