The United States agreed on Friday to withdraw troops from Niger, the Washington Post reported.
According to the Washington Post, the US has agreed to remove military personnel from Niger, as confirmed by three US officials. The development follows a request from Niger’s government following a military coup in 2023 that saw the junta seize power and declare the presence of U.S. troops “illegal.”
In a meeting between Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Nigerian Prime Minister Ali Ramin Zain, the US agrees to withdraw more than 1,000 troops, leaving uncertainty over the future of the $110 million US Air Force base. brought about. The report said authorities will soon begin planning for an orderly and responsible evacuation, which will require coordination with the Pentagon.
The United States notified Niger’s government on Friday that it agreed to a request to withdraw American troops from the West African country, which the Biden administration has long resisted, according to three U.S. officials. https://t.co/wWYmgofSst
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 20, 2024
A senior State Department official said in an interview with The Washington Post, “The prime minister has asked for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, and he has agreed to that.” (Related: Fact check: French ambassador to Niger claims video shows him being forcibly removed from building)
“We have agreed to begin discussions in the coming days on how to develop a plan,” a senior State Department official said, according to the Washington Post. “They agreed that we would do it in an orderly and responsible manner. And we would probably have to send someone to Niamey to sit down and resolve the dispute. And that would of course be a Department of Defense It will be a project.”
The suspension of U.S. military activities, including security cooperation and drone flights, has left the U.S. military at a loss. Niger’s new partnership with Russia, which features the arrival of Russian military instructors in Niamey to train local forces and equip them with air defense and other systems, deepens the diplomatic impasse, The Washington Post reports Ta.
The move away from ties with the US sparked local protests in Niamey, where hundreds of people demonstrated against the US military presence. Despite these challenges, U.S. officials are optimistic about restoring diplomatic relations with Niger, according to the Washington Post.
Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz on Thursday released a report alleging that U.S. military personnel in Niger are in “imminent danger” due to a “withholding of information” by the State Department. In his report, “Not Welcome in Niger,” Gaetz argues that a lack of support from the State Department and the Pentagon is putting U.S. forces in Niger at risk.
The report includes statements from several service members, including senior noncommissioned officers, who say they feel abandoned and are prevented from completing their missions or returning home after deployment. Those troops contacted Gates in April to express their concerns.
