News - CNN: US preparing to officially designate military takeover in Niger as a coup d’etat

The US State Department is preparing to officially designate the military takeover in Niger as a coup d’etat as soon as next week, three US officials told CNN. CNN notes, that this decision could have dramatic implications on the ability of the US to work with a crucial counter-terrorism partner in the region. The department is set to announce that the US will be suspending certain forms of assistance to Niger as a result of the coup designation, an official and another person familiar with the discussion said. The US embassy can continue to operate and the US military will be able to legally keep forces in Niger if a coup designation is made, US officials said. But the Pentagon is still assessing how the change will impact the approximately 1,000 US forces stationed in the country, officials said. US officials said it is unlikely that US forces withdraw completely, and some will probably stay in a more limited intelligence gathering role. According to the US Embassy in Niamey, since 2012, the Pentagon and State Department “have provided Niger more than $350 million in military assistance equipment and training programs – one of the largest security assistance and training programs in sub-Saharan Africa.” But US law requires that funds appropriated by Congress for training and equipping a foreign military must be restricted in the event that a “duly elected” country’s leader has been overthrown by that country’s military. The US military mission in Niger is one of the main reasons why the US held off so long on legally declaring the situation a military coup d’etat, instead engaging in extensive diplomacy to try to reverse the Nigerien military takeover, officials previously told CNN. But those diplomatic efforts haven’t been successful, and the military is still in power.