According to a United States general on Friday, the US military will finish removing its soldiers from Niger’s Air Base 101 in the capital on Sunday and will next concentrate on leaving a significant drone base in the upcoming weeks.
Following a coup in the West African nation last year, the junta in Niger ordered the United States to remove its almost 1,000 soldiers from the country in April, causing Washington to face an embarrassing defeat.
Before the coup, Niger had played a significant role in the United States’ campaign against militants in the Sahel region of Africa, who had caused millions of people to be displaced and thousands of deaths. Though the process is taking a while, officials in Washington warn that American intelligence on the rapidly expanding extremist groups in the region is waning. Washington is looking for a Plan B in West Africa.
Air Force Major General Kenneth Ekman, who is in Niger to oversee the withdrawal, announced that a ceremony will take place on Sunday night to officially close Air Base 101 for the United States. In the nation’s capital, Niamey, the base is situated close to Diori Hamani International Airport.
“We will do a joint ceremony on that occasion that marks the departure of the last U.S. C-17 (aircraft). The government of Niger will assume control of former U.S. areas and facilities,” Ekman said, speaking by video conference.
Russia has sent military personnel to the same base as the United States is leaving, and they are conducting training exercises there. Ekman emphasized that he has obtained guarantees from Niger that the forces of the two countries will remain apart, despite claims made by US officials that there has been no communication between American and Russian servicemen there.
“When I last talked to a Nigerian interlocutor, he quantified the presence of Russian forces as under 100. And he also talked about when the Russians are done training them, they have told the Russians that they have to go home,” Ekman said.
Troops in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have conducted coups since 2020, accusing civilian leaders of facilitating the advance of Islamist extremists. Juntas have broken defence pacts with US, French, and UN forces once they have taken control. The military government of Niger has given the United States until September 15th to withdraw its forces. This includes withdrawing from a $100 million drone base close to Agadez in central Niger, which had supplied vital intelligence regarding organizations associated with the Islamic State and al Qaeda.
