US agrees to pull over 1,000 troops from Niger
The long-expected move effectively marks a new regional gain for Russia,
which has ramped up its focus on Africa and backed military regimes in
neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.
The United States agreed Friday, April 19, to withdraw its more than
1,000 troops from Niger, officials said, upending its posture in West
Africa where the country was home to a major drone base. The
long-expected move effectively marks a new regional gain for Russia,
which has ramped up its focus on Africa and backed military regimes in
neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.
Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell accepted the call to remove
troops in a meeting in Washington with the prime minister of the junta,
Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, US officials told AFP on condition of
anonymity.
They agreed that a US delegation would head within days to the capital
Niamey to arrange an orderly withdrawal, the officials said. Nigerien
state television earlier announced that the US officials would visit
next week. The State Department made no immediate public announcement
and officials said no timeline was yet set to withdraw the troops.
Niger was long a linchpin in the US and French strategy to combat
jihadists in West Africa. The United States built a base in the desert
city of Agadez at the cost of $100 million to fly a fleet of drones.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken in March 2023 became the
highest-ranking American ever to visit Niger, vowing economic support
for one of the world's poorest countries and seeking to bolster elected
president Mohamed Bazoum, a stalwart Western ally. But the military four
months later sacked Bazoum and quickly kicked out troops from former
colonial power France.
Unlike its anger toward France, the junta initially sounded open to
maintaining its longtime defense relationship with the United States.
President Joe Biden's administration, however, has refused to mute
concerns, insisting on the return of civilian rule and the release of
Bazoum
Russian military instructors arrived in Niger this month with an air
defense system and other equipment, state media said, after talks
between military ruler General Abdourahamane Tiani and Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
Nigerien message becomes clear
The Nigerien military had announced last month in a statement on state
television that it was breaking off a defense agreement with the United
States with immediate effect. But diplomats said leadership had sent
mixed messages and the United States initially said it was awaiting
confirmation.
The United States puts a high priority on troops' safety, and concerns
rose last week when thousands rallied outside the National Assembly
headquarters chanting for US troops to leave. Despite maintaining
dialogue with the junta, the United States has for months been preparing
for the likelihood it will need to exit Niger.
General James Hecker, the US Air Force commander for both Europe and
Africa, said late last year that the United States was in discussions
for "several locations" elsewhere in West Africa to station drones.
While not publicly asking to station drones, the United States has
pursued close cooperation with coastal democracies including Benin,
Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire.
Western governments feared that the remote Sahel will offer a new hub
for Islamist militants after jihadists overran much of Mali in 2012 as
part of a rebellion by ethnic Tuaregs. With Niger seen as comparatively
stable, the United States based its drones in Agadez, building the site
known as Air Base 101.
The United States resumed drone operations after the July coup in Niger
but one of its main functions soon became surveillance for the sake of
protecting the US troops based there. With support from both parties,
the United States in recent years has been retrenching its once
sprawling military network set up as part of the "war on terror"
following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
