US withdraws over 1,000 soldiers from Niger

A U.S. official with knowledge of the matter said Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and the Niger administration had reached an agreement whereby the US would withdraw its troops from Niger

The United States Army decided to withdraw its forces from Niger, an essential base in West Africa.

With over 1,000 military personnel stationed in Niger last year, the U.S. Army utilized the air base and Air Base 201, both of which were constructed in the Agenez region at a cost exceeding $100 million.

Even though the Niger army, which seized power in a coup d’etat last year, had initially enjoyed amicable relations with the United States and France, that changed in light of the coups that occurred in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Niger, along with Burkina Faso and Mali, formed closer ties with Russia after deciding to withdraw from the regional economic and political bloc ECOWAS.

The military government of Niger declared the termination of its military cooperation agreement with the U.S. in March of last year.

A week after the junta altered its strategy even further by terminating the military agreement with the U.S. and accepting Russian military instructors, hundreds of people demonstrated in the capital of Niger to demand that the U.S. troops withdraw from the country.

In the past four years, eight coups have occurred in West and Central Africa, including in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali.

Source: Newsroom