U.S. ends most aid to Niger in wake of coup, detention of democratically elected president

Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The United States is ending most aid to Niger after concluding on Tuesday that a coup d'etat has gripped the West African nation since its civilian-run government was overthrown in July.

The democratically led country fell July 26 when President Mohamed Bazoum and his family were captured and held by the presidential guard.

In a statement from the U.S. State Department on Tuesday, officials said the action to withhold aid would be reflected in the department's annual appropriations act pursuant to section 7008. That government appropriations rule is used to prevent financial assistance going to governments overtaken by military rule.

"On August 5, the United States temporarily paused certain foreign assistance programs to the government of Niger, totaling nearly $200 million," officials said. "That assistance is now also suspended pursuant to section 7008 of the Department of State's annual appropriations act."

The statement also noted the U.S. government foreign aid agency Millennium Challenge Corporation's suspension of all assistance to Niger, including funds that were to have been used for a $302 million regional transportation initiative previously planned.

"We underscore that we will maintain our life-saving humanitarian, food, and health assistance to benefit the people of Niger," State Department officials said in the statement. "The United States also intends to continue to work with regional governments, including in Niger, to advance shared interests in West Africa."

Saying that the United States stands "with the Nigerien people in their aspirations for democracy, prosperity, and stability," State Department officials said a resumption in aid would occur only after the military junta -- the National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland -- ushers in democratic governance "in a quick and credible timeframe."

In August, Niger's military junta said it had evidence to prosecute Bazoum, the West African nation's deposed president, on crimes of "high treason" and for what it said was undermining the country's national and international security.

In Tuesday's statement, the United States reiterated its call for the release of Bazoum, his family and anyone else detained in the coup.

In September, France announced that it was removing its troops from Niger because of the coup and its leaders open hostility to Paris.

There have been at least six military coups in Africa since 2020, including in Niger and in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.