The US and Niger flags fly side by side at a US drone base in Niger in this photo from 2018. Photo: Carley Petesch / AP / NTB
Of NTB | 20.04.2024 05:13:03
Policy: US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has accepted the demand after a meeting in Washington with the junta’s prime minister on Friday, US officials told the AFP news agency.
A source with knowledge of the decision says the same to the Reuters news agency.
Last year, the US had just over 1,000 soldiers spread over two bases in Niger. One of the bases is a drone base, known as Air Base 201, near Agadez in central Niger, a project that has cost US taxpayers $100 million.
Since 2018, the base has been used to carry out attacks against IS and an al-Qaeda-linked group in the Sahel region.
Last year, the army in Niger seized power in the country. Until the coup, the country had been an important partner for the US and France.
The military junta that ousted the elected government has done the same as military juntas in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, terminating defense agreements with the US and France. They have also cut cooperation with the regional political and economic bloc Ecowas, and have instead entered into closer ties with Russia.
Details of how the US’s withdrawal will take place are expected to become clear in new talks in the coming days, says Reuters’ source. The source adds that there will continue to be diplomatic and economic ties between the US and Niger.
(© NTB)