{"id":1987340,"date":"2023-07-31T21:08:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T01:08:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nigers-hostage-president-waits-for-a-rescue-plan-that-doesnt-get-him-killed\/"},"modified":"2023-07-31T21:10:31","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T01:10:31","slug":"nigers-hostage-president-waits-for-a-rescue-plan-that-doesnt-get-him-killed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nigers-hostage-president-waits-for-a-rescue-plan-that-doesnt-get-him-killed\/","title":{"rendered":"Niger&#8217;s president held hostage, awaits safe rescue plan."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnigers-hostage-president-waits-for-a-rescue-plan-that-doesnt-get-him-killed%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1987340&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum\u2019s Bodyguards Stumble into \u2062Coup Attempt<\/h2>\n<p>In a\u200d dramatic turn of events, the treacherous bodyguards of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum have unwittingly found themselves embroiled in \u2062a coup attempt. This unexpected twist has raised hopes among the international community\u2064 that\u2064 Bazoum may\u200b be able to regain power, that is, if the bumbling mutineers don&#8217;t eliminate him first.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIn the first day\u2064 or so, it did not appear that anyone was supportive of this effort, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nigers-hostage-president-waits-for-a-rescue-plan-that-doesnt-get-him-killed\/\" title=\"Niger's president held hostage, awaits safe rescue plan.\">including key military officials<\/a>,\u201d a senior State Department official told reporters. \u201c[Military leaders] \u2064told us that\u2062 they did not object to what was taking place because they couldn&#8217;t figure out how \u200bto\u200c get the presidential guard to stand down \u2064without risk to the life\u200d of the president and his family, because the presidential guard had surrounded the president&#8217;s residence.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>A Thorny Problem for Bazoum&#8217;s Allies<\/h3>\n<p>This predicament poses a thorny problem for Bazoum&#8217;s allies both within Niger and abroad, who have made it clear that they will resist General Abdourahmane Tchiani&#8217;s power grab. However, this leverage seems to have a precarious nature, leaving the coup plotters in an uncomfortable position.<\/p>\n<p>State \u200bDepartment spokesman Matthew Miller stated, &#8220;It is clear that there has been an attempt to\u200c remove President Bazoum from office. It\u2019s not yet clear that attempt will ultimately be successful, so we are watching and monitoring \u2062very closely to prevent President\u200b Bazoum from being removed\u200b from office.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The senior State Department official acknowledged that there\u2062 might be\u2062 a &#8220;narrow opportunity to reverse&#8221; the coup attempt. West African \u200bstates in close proximity to Niger have instructed their military leaders to prepare for intervention. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a bloc\u200c of 15 countries, has declared the crisis\u200d a &#8220;hostage situation&#8221; and set a deadline for the &#8220;release and reinstatement&#8221; of the\u2064 democratically-elected\u200d president.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIn \u200dthe event [these] demands \u200dare not met within one week, \u2062take all \u2062measures necessary to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/war-drums-african-nations-threaten-use-of-force-if-coup-fails-to-reinstate-president\/\" title=\"African nations warn of force if coup fails to restore President.\">restore constitutional order<\/a> in the Republic of Niger,\u201d the\u200d ECOWAS bloc said in a \u2063communique released Sunday. \u201cSuch \u200bmeasures may include the use of force; to \u200dthis effect, the\u2062 Chiefs of defense staff of ECOWAS\u2062 are to meet immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>The Stakes for \u2063Bazoum and his Allies<\/h3>\n<p>Tchiani&#8217;s self-serving maneuver has put one of the United States&#8217;\u200b closest \u2063friends in the region at risk. Bazoum, a leader committed to civic-minded initiatives such as building schools in a poverty-stricken yet resource-rich country, plays a crucial role in U.S. counterterrorism operations.<\/p>\n<p>Bazoum&#8217;s potential downfall would \u200cnot only deprive the United States but also other European allies of a key\u200d democratic partner in West Africa. This blow is further compounded by Russia&#8217;s success in forcing France to terminate its \u200dcounterterrorism \u200bpartnership\u2064 in neighboring Mali. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the\u2063 Wagner Group, wasted no time\u2063 in offering his services to Tchiani. However, the\u200c ECOWAS states swiftly condemned the support of foreign governments and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/revealed-dhs-and-state-department-used-private-entity-to-target-millions-of-social-media-posts-for-censorship\/\" title=\"Revealed: DHS and State Department Used Private Entity to Target Millions of Social Media Posts for Censorship\">private military contractors<\/a>, sending a clear warning \u200cto Moscow.<\/p>\n<p>ECOWAS Chairman Bola Tinubu, the president of Nigeria, declared, &#8220;No more time\u200b for \u2062us to\u2064 send a \u200cwarning signal. It\u2019s time for action.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>A Personal Dispute\u200d with Geopolitical Ripple Effects<\/h3>\n<p>From the perspective of policymakers, this crisis appears to be a personal dispute with far-reaching geopolitical consequences. Tchiani is believed \u2062to have taken\u2064 the president hostage \u2062to prevent his\u2063 own dismissal. \u200cThe coup plotters have attempted to portray the ECOWAS countries as tools of colonialism, seemingly \u200din an effort to align their insubordinate operation with the mantle of anti-imperialism.<\/p>\n<p>Amadou Abdramane, the junta spokesman, \u200cstated on state television, &#8220;The aim of this meeting \u200dis to approve a plan of \u200caggression against Niger, in the form \u200cof an imminent military intervention in Niamey, in cooperation with African countries who are not members of the regional body and certain Western nations,&#8221; as reported by \u200bthe\u2062 Africa Report.<\/p>\n<p>The junta also issued a warning that an ECOWAS intervention &#8220;will end in nothing but the massacre of the Nigerien population and chaos.&#8221; However, Bazoum&#8217;s\u2063 allies maintain\u200c that he remains &#8220;optimistic&#8221; about the crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Nigerien Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou \u200cexpressed his confidence in Bazoum, stating,\u2062 &#8220;He&#8217;s a great fighter and a seasoned trade unionist. If \u2064he&#8217;s optimistic about the situation, we can believe him. He really hopes that things will evolve in the right direction.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>President Biden&#8217;s Leverage and the Standoff<\/h3>\n<p>President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration is leveraging its influence by threatening to sever military and economic cooperation with Niger, which currently hosts around 1,100 U.S. troops. Secretary of State Antony Blinken commended the\u200d strong leadership of the \u200dECOWAS bloc while urging the parties involved to seek a peaceful and swift resolution to the \u2062current situation. \u200bHowever, the\u200d U.S. has not disclosed how\u200b it would respond if Tchiani\u200b ignores the ECOWAS ultimatum.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe one positive aspect of this situation, to date, has\u2062 been that there\u200c has \u2062really been limited or minimal-to-no violence, and I think that&#8217;s a goal that everybody shares, [to] try and avoid open conflict,\u201d the senior \u2062State Department official said. \u201cIf \u200dyou attack the presidential guard, and their\u2064 first reaction is to kill the president, that\u2019s not a \u200cgood outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>For now, the standoff continues, with the focus centered on\u2064 the\u2064 president&#8217;s\u200c residence. The senior State Department official reassured that there is \u200ccurrently no unrest \u200din the city or the country at large.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum&#8217;s bodyguards encountered a coup attempt, creating a chance for his return to power. However, concerns arise as the disorganized mutineers pose a threat to his life. A senior State Department official revealed that initially, even military officials showed no support for the coup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1987341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1987340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1987340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1987340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1987340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1987341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1987340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1987340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1987340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}