U.S. won’t declare Nigerien soldiers who removed President Bazoum

The restraint the U.S. is exercising from declaring the overthrow a coup is only a means to an end, according to a report

The United States government is refraining from labelling the overthrow of Niger’s democratic government a coup and the military junta coup plotters as a precautionary move to preserve America’s interest.

The visit of U.S. acting deputy secretary of state, Victoria Nuland, to Niger on Monday met a dead-end as she disclosed that the junta refused to grant her an audience with the deposed President Mohamed Bazoum and junta leader, General Abdourahmane Tchiani.

She, however, met with the putschists’ chief of defence, Moussa Salaou Barmou, a general trained by the American military forces, who justified the takeover and insisted that Mr Bazoum would continue to be detained.

But the restraint the U.S. is exercising from declaring the overthrow a coup is only a means to an end, a bargaining chip to ensure that democracy is restored to Niger, officials acquainted with the matter told NBC.

Once the U.S. government declares the ousting of Mr Bazoum a coup, Niger would cease to benefit from all manner of training and financial aid from the U.S. as previously enjoyed.

So far, they believe the junta is unwilling to give up those benefits.

Knowing what the junta wants and their capacity to provide it will be used to negotiate their demands, ultimately to return Niger to the leadership of its democratically-elected president, Mr Bazoum, whose release they are also fighting for.

“We are trying to leverage the support that we have that we know they want,” a U.S. official told NBC.

Officials who accompanied Ms Nuland to Niger had earlier said the putschists had grown defiant and unmoving in their mission to keep ruling the nation while holding the elected president hostage. But they were hopeful the holdoff from labelling it a coup may yield the desired outcome.