It was largely foretold, now it happened. So in Niger, the US was officially asked to withdraw its military mission in the country, about 1,000 people, which will also lead to the closure of its 2 bases, 101 and 201 as they are called, which were used for drone flights. In fact, in recent days there have been small-scale anti-American demonstrations in the north of the country.
The American presence in Niger dates back to 2013, when a relevant military cooperation memorandum was signed that would also serve the French counter-terrorist action in the country, against the jihadists. The US has invested heavily in the construction of its bases and has also engaged in local skirmishes with jihadists.
However, the situation was reversed last year, with the event of a military coup, which brought to power nationalist elements, who from the first days in government announced that they would request the exit of the French and Americans. Thus, last year France withdrew its own 1,500 military personnel, while a few days ago, the new government requested the same from the US. Which were expecting the move, having already suspended their operations in the region, which mainly targeted local groups linked to the Islamic State, as well as the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) organization linked to Al Kaeda.
The US has announced that it accepts the withdrawal and that an exit plan will now be agreed, with a joint effort to make it as soft as possible, as there are signs that the military regime does not want to completely sever its relations with Washington.
Obviously for the USA it is very problematic the fact that Russian trainers have already arrived in the country (so they declare), plus Russian weapons systems, in a rather crude “substitute” for them… With the geopolitical game in the Sahel zone on fire, as the Western forces withdraw from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the security problem with jihadist groups remains significant, producing much bloodshed and many refugees, and Russia emerges as the “successor state”.
