NO DECISION MADE ON MOVEMENT OF US FORCES FROM NIGER: PENTAGON

Fri 29 March 2024:

No decision has been made on the movement of US forces from Niger, a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.

“There’s been no decisions made at this stage on the movement of US forces,” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters when asked about the future of US troops in the West African country.

His remarks came a day after Niger said the US will submit a plan to “disengage” its soldiers from the country.

“Well, I did see that article…I really don’t have anything on that.

“To my knowledge, there continue to be ongoing discussions at this time,” Ryder added.

Niger terminated its longstanding military agreement with Washington in early March, declaring the presence of all 1,000 US troops and contractors “illegal.”

Nigerien government spokesman Amadou Abdramane said the government considers the presence of US troops on Niger’s territory illegal because “it was not democratically approved and imposes unfavorable conditions on Niger, particularly in terms of lack of transparency on military activities.”

During the previous governments in Niger, US troops trained Nigerien forces in counterterrorism.

A drone base known as Air Base 201 near Agadez was built at a cost of more than $100m. Since 2018 the base has been used to target ISIL (ISIS) fighters and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, in the Sahel region.

‘A huge blow to the US’

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera correspondent Shihab Rattansi said the move is “a huge blow to the US”.

“Niger is the centre of US operations in west and north Africa, notably at its Air Base 201, the most expensive construction project ever undertaken by the US government. It’s there for war on terror operations but it’s really there also for great power projection against countries like Russia and China.”

Last October, Washington officially designated the military takeover as a coup. But in December, the top US envoy for Africa, Phee, said the US was willing to restore aid and security ties if Niger met certain conditions.

Niger has been under military rule since July 2023 when an elite guard force led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani detained President Mohamed Bazoum and declared Tchiani ruler.

Like the military rulers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger has also kicked out French and other European forces. Both Mali and Burkina Faso have turned to Russia for support.

-With Anadolu Agency

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