The United States announced it is evacuating non-emergency personnel from its embassy in Niger, and considering further evacuations as Niger wrestles with an attempted military coup, according to a new travel advisory issued by the U.S. State Department on August 2.
It is the third embassy evacuation in the last four months, and the sixth since Biden took office.
The administration is averaging over two evacuations per year—more than double the rate of the Obama administration, which evacuated eight embassies over two terms (Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Central African Republic and South Sudan).
“The Afghanistan debacle was just a preview of disasters to come,” tweeted Mississippi Congressman Mike Ezell when the news broke. “This administration's weakness fails the men and women who have committed to serving their country around the globe.”
The evacuation takes place as Biden vacations in Delaware, amid growing speculation that the 80-year-old president is too old for office.
Including Niger , the Biden administration has evacuated the following:
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (July 27, 2023). Non-Emergency Personnel Evacuated
The U.S. State Department began evacuating non-emergency personnel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 27, blaming escalating violent gang warfare. Street gangs reportedly controlled nearly 90 percent of the Haitian capital when the embassy began its evacuation.
Khartoum, Sudan (April 22, 2023). Entire Embassy Evacuated.
The U.S. State Department evacuated “all US personnel and their families” after observing increasingly heavy fighting in the region between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
Minsk, Belarus. February 28, 2022. Entire Embassy Evacuated.
U.S. embassy staff and personnel evacuated Minsk, Belarus, several days after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
"We took these steps due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine,” explained U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a press statement.
Kyiv Ukraine. Feb 12, 2022. Entire Embassy Evacuated.
Amid fears of a Russian invasion, the U.S. Government moved its Ukrainian embassy from Kyiv to Lviv on February 12. When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the U.S. State Department evacuated embassy staff from Lviv and resumed embassy operations remotely, from Poland.
Months later, on May 18, the State Department reopened its embassy in Kyiv after Ukrainian forces blunted the initial Russian invasion.
Kabul, Afghanistan (August 15, 2021). Entire Embassy Evacuated.
During the Biden administration’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, the U.S. State Department was forced to evacuate Embassy staff as Taliban fighters converged on the city of Kabul. The evacuation was so haphazard that embassy staff were forced to destroy troves of sensitive information, including passports belonging to Afghans attempting to flee the country.