The United States is not joining European allies in evacuating its citizens from Niger for now, the White House said Tuesday, citing a lack of immediate danger following a coup.
Washington is “certainly aware of efforts by France and other European nations to evacuate their citizens. At the same time, we don’t have any indications of direct threats to US citizens or to our facilities, so we have not changed our posture with respect to our presence in Niger at this time,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
About 1,000 US troops are stationed in the land-locked African nation, where they were helping the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, combat a regional Islamist insurgency.
Kirby said the White House still sees a “window” for diplomacy to resolve the Niger crisis but added that “we’re monitoring it literally by the hour.”
“We do continue to urge American citizens that are in Niger to make sure safety is their first priority,” he said.
Kirby also said the US military in Niger was not taking part in the European airlifts.
“There’s been no decision to use them in any way to support evacuation efforts by other countries,” he said, and there has been “no decision made about pre-positioning any additional forces in or nearby.”
“If we have to make adjustments, we’ll make adjustments,” he said. “We’re just not there.”
