The Tongo Tongo (Niger) ambush on October 4, 2017, in which four American soldiers died, sparked a strong debate in the Donald Trump Administration about the presence and size of its contingent in Africa. It was the largest loss of soldiers on the continent since the battle of Mogadishu (Somalia) in 1993. Almost seven years after the massacre on Nigerien soil, perpetrated by the Sahelian branch of the Islamic State, it is not the United States that is considering maintaining or withdraw their soldiers, but it is the countries of the region that have asked the foreign soldiers to pack up and leave. After the military junta of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger expelled French forces from their territory last year following their approach to Russia, it is now the turn of the United States.
This week, the authorities of Niger and Joe Biden’s Government met to discuss the model and schedule for the withdrawal of the thousand US military personnel deployed in this African nation. Almost in parallel, the Chadian army has demanded the cessation of US activities, in this case, at the Adji Kosseï air base, next to the airport in N’Djamena, the country’s capital, just two weeks before the elections. general.
Washington’s diplomatic efforts to keep its soldiers in the Sahel do not seem to be bearing fruit. This Thursday, the country’s ambassador to Niger, Kathleen Fitzgibbon, and General Kenneth Ekman, responsible for strategy and programs of the US Africa Command (Africom), held a meeting in Niamey, the capital of Niger, with members of the military junta in which they finally addressed the departure of American troops. General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, confirmed the contacts.
The dispute between the Nigerien and American authorities has lasted for months. After the coup d’état in July 2023, Washington froze its military mission to support the anti-jihadist fight, but tried to maintain its presence in Niger at all costs, key to its security strategy in Africa. However, as was the case in Mali and Burkina Faso, signing agreements with Russia was a red line for Washington. For this reason, the Nigerien authorities decided to break the pact that held them together and begin the process to expel the US troops.
Russian instructors
“As part of ongoing discussions since July 2023, we have been unable to reach an agreement with the CNSP [Consejo Nacional para la Protección de la Patria, nombre bajo el que gobierna la junta militar en Níger] to continue this security cooperation in a way that meets the needs and concerns of each party,” the US diplomatic mission in Niamey reported in a note this Thursday. On April 11, with the departure of the US military already on the table, Nigerien state television reported the arrival of the first Russian instructors along with equipment sent by Moscow, including anti-aircraft defense systems. Africa Corps, a unit of the Russian Ministry of Defense that is the successor to the Wagner mercenary group, confirmed the arrival of its men in the country.
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The West considers that Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, after years of military assistance in the fight against jihadist and insurgent groups with very questionable results, have fallen under Russian influence. Thus, the next diplomatic battle is fought in Chad. This country, with gold and crude oil under its soil, is considered key because it houses the last major French military base in the region – France has a thousand soldiers deployed in at least three locations – and it is emerging as the alternative to Niger for the US troops in their strategy to combat jihadist terrorism in the Sahel and the Lake Chad region. For this reason, Russia is also pulling the strings here to gain the favor of the Chadian regime. The country is also going through a turbulent period after the 2021 coup d’état led by General Mahamat Idris Déby, who took power after the death of his father, Idris Déby, while fighting against a rebel group.
On May 6, Chad will hold presidential elections in which the top favorite is, precisely, Mahamat Idris Déby. The transitional regime has intensified its contacts in recent months not only with Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the three members of the newly created Association of Sahel States (AES), but directly with Russia. Déby himself held a friendly meeting with Vladimir Putin on January 24 in Moscow. In a recent interview with Radio France International, he admitted that both had talked about military cooperation and assured that Chad is sovereign in choosing allies. “We intend to work with all nations in the world that respect us and want to work with us while respecting each other,” he said.
Last Friday, media sympathetic to Moscow, including the African Initiative agency, accused by the United States of being a disinformation tool at the service of the Kremlin, aired a letter from Chadian Air Force General Idriss Amine Ahmed in which he informed the Ministry of Defense of his country that he had asked the American Defense attaché in Niamey for “the immediate suspension of activities” of the United States at the Adji Kosseï base. “We ask you,” the military command said in its letter, “that you intercede with whomever corresponds to warn the Americans that we have made the decision to stop your activity.” Amine Ahmed argued that, after requesting documents from Washington, they had not found any justification for his presence at the base located in the center of N’Djamena. Washington has around a hundred uniformed personnel in the country.
Negotiation with N’Djamena
Asked by Morning Express, the US State Department points out that its “military deployments abroad operate by invitation and with the support and association of the host nation.” The ministry, led by Antony Blinken, admits that it is in talks with the Chadian authorities regarding the security agreement between the two countries – not only does it include anti-terrorist work, but also military training. “As Chad focuses on preparing for its elections,” this department states in a message, “we anticipate consultations on the parameters of our security cooperation after the elections.”
With or without an agreement between the parties, General Patrick Ryder stated this Thursday, according to the Reuters agency, that the North American high command has given the green light, at least temporarily, to the transfer of several dozen special forces until now stationed in Chad to the base in Germany (Stuttgart-Möhringen), where Africom has its headquarters. The fear that this country will also fall into Putin’s orbit is also due to a clear geopolitical issue: it would allow land connection between the Central African Republic and Sudan, where Wagner’s mercenaries have been operating for years, with their new allies Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, creating a belt of Russian influence across the entire continent.
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