[ti:Unrest in Niger Raises New Questions About Security in West Africa]
[al:As It Is]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2023-07-28]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]Wednesday's attempt by military members to seize power in Niger puts the West African country's security into question.
[00:10.61]A group of soldiers said late Wednesday they had ousted democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
[00:21.32]Earlier Wednesday, however, the president's Twitter account released a message saying he and his family were safe.
[00:30.93]It said other military members planned to support the president.
[00:37.87]The leadership situation in Niger creates a question of what will happen to the West African country that is campaigning against religious extremism.
[00:51.82]Western nations, including France and the U.S., have considered Niger to be a democratic ally. 
[01:01.68]Both countries have about 1,000 soldiers in Niger. 
[01:06.69]The soldiers are there to support the country if it is attacked by Islamic extremist fighters.
[01:14.92]France has been active in the area, offering similar support to the nearby countries of Mali and Burkina Faso. 
[01:24.82]The French soldiers, however, left Mali in late in 2022 after tensions with the country's military leadership.
[01:35.14]U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, visited Niger in March. 
[01:42.70]He called the country a "model of democracy." 
[01:46.25]Blinken announced $150 million in aid while he was there.
[01:52.17]The military leaders of Mali and Burkina Faso use the Russian Wagner Group for military support. 
[02:01.84]The concern is that Niger will do something similar, removing any western influence from the area.
[02:09.25]Paul Melly is an Africa expert at the Chatham House research group in London.
[02:17.24]Before the military action on Wednesday, he said Niger had been open to working with international partners.
[02:25.48]"So, quite a lot is at stake here," he added.
[02:29.07]Melly pointed to one important difference between what is happening in Niger and other nations in the area whose leaders have been ousted.
[02:41.93]In Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso, the people on the streets supported the military coup.
[02:50.56]In Niger, Melly said, that was not what happened.
[02:54.90]People were supporting Bazoum, the president.
[02:58.21]Western nations are concerned about Niger because they have used the country as an operations base in actions against extremist fighters.
[03:09.70]The concern is that a leadership change in Niger will limit what western countries can do to fight terrorist groups in West Africa and the Sahel. 
[03:21.10]The Sahel is the area south of the Sahara Desert.
[03:24.96]In 2021, the United States said it had supported Niger with over $500 million of military aid and training since 2012. 
[03:37.45]Earlier in 2023, the European Union started a $30 million training program in Niger.
[03:45.58]The U.S. is known to have a drone base it uses to fight militant extremists in the northern part of Niger.
[03:55.28]John Manley is a spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command.
[04:01.07]He said it is too soon to know how the coup attempt in Niger will affect U.S. activities in the country.
[04:08.22]Other African nations say they are worried that fighting in the northern part of West Africa will move south.
[04:16.72]Omar Touray is president of the ECOWAS Commission. 
[04:21.86]ECOWAS is the economic group formed by 15 West African nations.
[04:28.45]Touray recently told the United Nations that extremist fighting could move into Ghana and Ivory Coast if Niger loses western support.
[04:40.32]West African nations say there were about 1,800 extremist attacks this year resulting in almost 4,600 deaths - mostly in Burkina Faso and Niger.
[04:55.03]I'm Dan Friedell.