On Friday, the United States informed the Nigerian government that it had responded to Niger’s request and agreed to withdraw its troops from the West African country.
The Biden administration had opposed the decision as it would alter Washington’s counter-terrorism stance in the region. Especially after the Sahel region, including neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, has become a global hotspot for Islamist extremism in recent years.
The agreement will mark the end of the presence of US troops, totalling more than 1,000, and will call into question the status of a $110 million US airbase that is just six years old. The US has also invested hundreds of millions of dollars in training Niger’s armed forces since it began operations there in 2013.
Niger has played a central role in US military operations in Africa’s Sahel region, and Washington is concerned about the spread of jihadist violence where local groups have sworn allegiance to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups.
The US has suspended security co-operation with Niger, restricting US activities, including unarmed drone flights. But US military personnel remained in the country, unable to fulfil their duties.
For US officials who viewed the base as an important counterterrorism asset, the withdrawal agreement is a significant setback. The State Department official said:
I think it’s undeniable that it was a platform in a unique part of African geography.
Relations between Niger and Western countries deteriorated after rebel soldiers overthrew the country’s democratically elected president last July. In October, Washington officially labelled the military coup a coup, which led to the passage of US laws limiting the military support and aid it can provide to Niger.
Niger’s junta has since ordered French troops to withdraw and has instead turned to Russia for security. Earlier this month, Russian military instructors arrived to bolster the country’s air defences and with Russian equipment to train Nigerians in its use.
