Aug 10 AP report: Niger’s junta told U.S. they would kill deposed president if neighbors intervene militarily By Sam Mednick, Chinedu Asadu, Associated Press Representatives of the junta told U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of… Continue reading
Aug 07 West African leaders to meet after Niger’s military junta fails to reinstate ousted president By Sam Mednick, Associated Press The mutinous soldiers have closed the country’s airspace and accused foreign powers of preparing an attack. Continue reading
Aug 04 In Niger, the U.S. seeks to hang on to its last, best counterterrorism outpost in West Africa By Ellen Knickmeyer, Sam Mednick, Cara Anna, Associated Press Abandoning Niger risks not only a surge in jihadist groups in West Africa, but even greater influence by Russia's Wagner mercenary group. Continue reading
Aug 02 What would ECOWAS’s threat to use force to restore democracy in Niger look like? By Chinedu Asadu, Associated Press This is the first time in recent years that ECOWAS has considered the use of force to restore democracies in countries where the military took over. Continue reading
Jul 30 French embassy in Niger attacked during pro-junta rally in capital By Sam Mednick, Associated Press Thousands of people backing the coup in Niger marched through the streets of the capital denouncing the country's former colonial power, and setting a door at the French Embassy ablaze on Sunday before the army broke up the crowd. Continue reading
Jul 27 Watch 7:06 Coup in Niger puts U.S. efforts to thwart terrorism in Africa’s Sahel region at risk By Stephanie Sy, Teresa Cebrian Aranda and Sarah Cutler, Columbia Journalism Fellow An apparent military takeover has occurred in the African nation of Niger. It's a country struggling with grinding poverty and fighting back an Islamist insurgency. The U.S. denounced the coup and has long counted Niger as a partner in the… Continue watching
Jul 27 How the coup in Niger could expand the reach of Islamic extremism, and Wagner, in West Africa By Cara Anna, Associated Press More than 1,000 U.S. service personnel are in Niger to combat the growing threat from various groups of Islamic extremists. Continue reading
Jul 05 UN says millions left with no aid as West Africa suffers worst hunger crisis in 10 years By Chinedu Asadu, Associated Press The United Nations food agency says millions of hungry people in West Africa are left without aid because it is struggling with limited funding to respond to the region's worst hunger crisis in 10 years. Continue reading
Mar 27 Harris pledges aid, security assistance in meeting with Ghana’s president By Chris Megerian, Sam Mednick, Associated Press Harris will also visit Tanzania and Zambia, part of an effort to broaden U.S. outreach in Africa at a time when China and Russia have entrenched interests of their own on the continent. Continue reading
Mar 20 Kidnapped U.S. aid worker, French journalist freed in West Africa By Dalatou Mamane, Eric Tucker, Krista Larson, Associated Press An American aid worker and a French journalist kidnapped and held by Islamist extremists were freed on Monday, four days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid a visit to West Africa. Continue reading