The United States is withdrawing its troops from Niger at the request of the government that took power after a military coup.
According to local media reports, the decision to withdraw troops came after talks in Washington between US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine. News reports said the US had agreed to close the unmanned aerial vehicle base.
The US, which has around 1,100 troops in Niger, continues to operate from two bases. The most important of these is the $100 million Niger Air Base 201, located near the city of Agadez at the southern end of the Sahara.
A US delegation is expected to travel to Niger’s capital, Niamey, in the next few days to ensure an orderly withdrawal of troops.
Senior US officials travelled to Niger last month to try to ensure that the US would maintain its base in the country despite the suspension of military and development aid to Niger’s coup government. But after three days of waiting, the US delegation left without meeting the country’s military commander, General Abdurrahmane Tchiani, and a day later Niger announced the end of the military partnership Washington had come to secure.
In Niger, President Mohammed Bazum was arrested by elements of the presidential guard regiment on 26 July 2023, and the military announced the seizure of power that evening. General Abdurrahmane Tchiani, commander of the presidential guard regiment, became head of the transitional government, called the National Council for the Protection of the Homeland (CNSP). The CNSP appointed Lamine Zeine as Prime Minister and formed a 21-member cabinet of military and civilians.
After announcing the end of security ties with Washington, Niamey hosted a delegation of Chinese oil executives interested in expanding mining operations in the country, met directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin to strengthen security ties, and welcomed dozens of Russian military trainers and an advanced air defence system. Niger hosted the Iranian ambassador to finalise the establishment of official diplomatic relations with Tehran, which is reportedly keen to invest in the country’s uranium sector.
