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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has spoken to President Bola Tinubu about the ongoing situation in Niger.
Monday’s call was the third in three weeks between high-level US officials and Abuja since putschists seized power in the West African country.
President Tinubu is the chairman of regional bloc Ecowas which is leading efforts to reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum and is assembling troops for the possible use of military force in Niamey.
In a Twitter post, Mr Blinken said he called President Tinubu to “commend his leadership of the Economic Community of West African States and discussed shared efforts to restore constitutional order in Niger”.
The US is among a host of western countries that have military bases in Niger, seen as important in the fight against spreading Islamist insurgency in the Sahel.
Many ordinary citizens in West African are strongly opposed to any military intervention in Niger and there was a mild protest over the weekend in Kano, northern Nigeria’s main city, against the use of force.
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