Russian troops settle on a base occupied by the American army

Russian soldiers entered an air base in Niger that houses American troops, Reuters a senior American defense official. This back-and-forth situation responds to a decision by the Nigerien junta to expel American forces from the country. While Washington has until now been a key partner of Niamey in the fight against jihadism, the soldiers who came to power after the coup d’état of July 2023 demanded the departure of some 1,000 American soldiers installed in the country… to ask Russia to deploy its own there. “(The situation) is not great but manageable in the short term”the American official told Reuters, on condition of anonymity.

The same Source clarified that Russian forces did not mix with American troops but used a separate hangar at Air Base 101, located next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, the capital. Information confirmed Friday by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. “The Russians are in a separate compound and do not have access to American forces or our equipment”he said at a press conference in Honolulu, affirming that this situation did not present a major problem. “I am always concerned about the safety and protection of our troops. But at the moment, I don’t see a significant problem here in terms of protecting our forces.”

Broken relationships

This cohabitation between armies comes at a time of the most acute military and diplomatic rivalry between Moscow and Washington, against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine. Niger’s decision to request the withdrawal of U.S. troops came after a meeting in Niamey in mid-March, when senior U.S. officials raised concerns about the planned arrival of Russian forces. They also discussed information according to which Iran was looking for raw materials in the country, in particular uranium.

Although the message sent to Nigerien officials was not an ultimatum, the generals’ regime reacted by denouncing “with immediate effect” the military cooperation agreement signed with the United States in 2012. “They didn’t take it very well,” the American official commented to Reuters. In April, Washington agreed to withdraw its troops from the Sahel country, without specifying a deadline. A two-star American general was sent to Niger to try to organize an orderly withdrawal.

Driven from the continent

After the coup, the US military moved part of its forces in Niger from Air Base 101 to Air Base 201 in the center of the country, in the city of Agadez. This base, which was built by the United States at a cost of more than $100 million, has served since 2018 as a base for armed drones that target jihadists from the Islamic State and JNIM (al-Qaeda affiliated group). ).

Following successive coups d’état in West Africa, which brought to power soldiers wishing to distance themselves from Western governments, the United States, like France before them, was forced to withdraw its troops from a number of countries. In addition to the imminent departure from Niger, US troops have also left Chad in recent days, while French forces have been expelled from Mali and Burkina Faso. At the same time, Russia seeks to strengthen its relations with African countries, presenting Moscow as a friendly country, with no colonial history on the continent. Mali, for example, has become one of Moscow’s closest African allies in recent years, with the deployment of Wagner Group mercenary forces to fight jihadist insurgents.