‘We may be forced to invade Niger’

U.S. Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment stand in formation during a handover, take over ceremony at Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, Feb. 11, 2022. The ceremony demonstrated NATO's continued commitment to the collective defense and security of our allies on NATO's eastern flank. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Adrian Patoka)

The United States of America says it may be forced to invade Niger Republic if the military government refuses to return to constitutional order.

The US acting deputy secretary, Victoria Nuland, disclosed this in a special briefing on Tuesday, August 8.

“We will be watching that closely, and there are a number of regional meetings coming up and consultations with allies and partners that we need to make,” she said.

“So we’ll be watching the situation, but we understand our legal responsibilities and I explained those very clearly to the guys (Niger junta) who were responsible for this and that it is not our desire to go there but they may push us to that point. And we asked them to be prudent in that regard and to hear our offer to try to work with them to solve this diplomatically and return to constitutional order.”

Nuland further disclosed that President Joe Biden has been in constant touch with President Tinubu, the ECOWAS chairman, as well as many other European allies.

Olayinka ObeyAugust 9, 2023

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