The U.S. government is ordering many U.S. embassy personnel to temporarily leave Niger amid the country’s military coup.
The State Department announced Wednesday evening that it was ordering “non-emergency U.S. government personnel” and their families to leave Niger. A core group of staffers will remain, and the facility will not close. But the embassy has “suspended routine services, and is only able to provide emergency assistance to U.S. citizens in Niger.” Such orders typically apply primarily to American citizens and it was not immediately clear if it would apply to non-U.S. citizens employed by the embassy.
The decision was made “out of an abundance of caution,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in the announcement. He noted that “commercial flight options are limited.” It was not clear how or exactly when the embassy personnel and their relatives could be taken out, but chartered flights are a potential option.
The decision to pull U.S. diplomats out of the West African country, which POLITICO first reported was in the works, is a difficult one politically for President Joe Biden.
Niger, which only recently transitioned to democracy, is a key U.S. partner in the battle against terrorism, and the U.S. military has a presence in the country. The Biden team is struggling with whether to even formally declare the events a coup, because doing so could endanger its U.S. military aid to Niger, providing an opening for Russia to increase its influence in Africa.
A U.S. diplomatic pullout could undermine the Biden administration’s repeated statements of support for currently ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum and his allies. But leaving diplomats in potential danger could hurt Biden domestically.
Source : Yahoo