Niger attempted coup marked by ‘confusion’ and ‘fluidity:’ U.S. official

NIAMEY, Niger — A State Department official said Saturday that the attempted military coup in Niger has been marked by “confusion, shifting alliances and fluidity,” and that uncertainty is one reason the U.S. government has not declared it a coup. 

Nigerien soldiers said Wednesday they had overthrown the country’s democratically elected leader, Mohamed Bazoum, with troops surrounding the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey. The U.S. said the rebelling soldiers had detained Bazoum in what African organizations called an attempted coup.

There does not appear to be prior coordination and pre-planning, and, in fact, the underlying issue is a personal dispute between the Presidential Guard commander — and self-proclaimed leader of Niger, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani — and Bazoum, according to the State Department official.

“The Presidential Guard commander, who thought he was going to be fired by Bazoum, and, in fact, in the past Bazoum has attempted to dismiss him, surrounded the presidential residence and effectively is keeping the President and his family hostage,” the official said. 

At first the U.S. believed nobody in the military or security services supported this, but on the second day it “ballooned a bit,” the official said, making it unclear where Nigerien allies’ allegiances actually were.

U.S. officials spoke with Nigerien officials who said they were acting to ensure the president and his family are not hurt and there was no conflict with the military and civilians, the official continued. Some members of the military appear to have sided with the Presidential Guard but “it’s not clear how widespread this is.”

In the first 24 hours, U.S. contacts were saying no one was interested in a coup, but by the second day, the concern was that the situation could degenerate, and the president could be harmed or the armed forces could fight amongst themselves, “a situation nobody wanted to see,” the official said. “It’s fluid and that’s why we’re trying to be very forceful in supporting the region and calling for this to be arrested and reversed.”