The United States has accepted the requests of the Government of Niger to withdraw its troops from the country, according to several US media outlets citing State Department sources. There is no specific timetable for the withdrawal of the more than 1,000 US military personnel in the African State. French troops already withdrew last year from Niger, where Russian influence has grown since last year’s coup.
Joe Biden’s Government had until now resisted withdrawing US troops because losing access to Niger’s air bases is a severe setback for the United States and its allies in the region, due to its strategic location for security operations in the Sahel. Just six years ago, Washington allocated about 110 million dollars (just over 100 million euros at the current exchange rate) to an air base that it is now preparing to abandon. The United States has also invested hundreds of millions of dollars in training Niger’s military since it began operating there in 2013.
Currently, there are about 1,000 US military personnel, including contractors, in Niger. There is also a major US air base, in the city of Agadez, about 920 kilometers from the capital, Niamey, which is used for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations. Since the coup d’état that the country experienced on July 26 of last year, the troops’ mission has been protection and concentration when moving from Air Base 101 in Niamey to Air Base 201, in Agadez. Its previous anti-terrorist mission ceased since the coup.
The Nigerien army dismissed democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, 2023, and replaced him with General Abderrahmane Tchiani, who was commander of the Nigerien presidential guard. Later, he formed the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, also called CNSP. This military junta has since ordered French forces to leave the country and turned to Russia for security. Earlier this month, Russian military instructors arrived to reinforce the country’s air defenses and with Russian material to train Nigeriens in their use.
Niger’s CNSP-appointed Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell agreed Friday that both nations would begin planning for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, the U.S. State Department said Saturday. to the Associated Press agency via email.
Several US diplomatic missions have held negotiations since August last year with the leaders of the CNSP, regarding Niger’s return to the democratic path and the future of the alliance between this country and the United States in terms of security and development, but without success.
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In March, a US delegation met with Nigerien officials, expressing concern about Niger’s possible relations with Russia and Iran, as well as the status of US forces in the country, the deputy press secretary admitted to the media. of the Pentagon, Sabrina Singh.
The US Department of Defense was aware of the March 16 statement by senior Nigerien officials announcing the end of the security agreement between the two countries. “We are working through diplomatic channels to seek clarifications. “These are ongoing conversations,” Singh said last month. Those talks have failed.
Niger plays a central role in US military operations in Africa’s Sahel region, which also includes Mali and Burkina Faso. Washington is concerned about the spread of jihadist violence, where local groups have pledged allegiance to al Qaeda and Islamic State groups. The region has become the epicenter of global terrorism.
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso withdrew in January from ECOWAS, the Western economic bloc in the region, after expelling French soldiers from their territories and strengthening relations with Moscow.
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