US forces to complete withdrawal from Niger's Air Base 101 Sunday

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Jul 2024 17:49
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A US defense official says a majority of some 500 US troops currently in the $100 million drone base, Air Base 201, will remain in Niger through September.

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Protesters gather as a man holds up a sign demanding that soldiers from the United States Army leave Niger without negotiation during a demonstration in Niamey, on April 13, 2024. (AFP)

US forces will complete a withdrawal from Air Base 101 in Niger on Sunday, but several hundred other troops will remain at a second air base in the country through September, a US defense official told Sputnik on Friday.

The defense official confirmed reports about US forces leaving Air Base 101 near Niamey by Sunday.

However, the official noted that a majority of some 500 US troops currently in Niger are stationed at the $100 million drone base, Air Base 201, near the northern city of Agadez, adding that those troops will remain in the country through September.

"They will also close down 201 as well, but the priority was 101 in Niamey first, followed by 201. AB 201 withdrawal will be complete no later than 15 September," the official told Sputnik.

The US military withdrawal was initiated in March after the country's transitional government, which took power in a coup in July 2023, had terminated the military agreement with the United States with immediate effect, citing the interests of the Nigerien people.

In May, the two sides announced they had reached a disengagement agreement after several days of talks between a delegation from the US Department of Defense and Nigerien counterparts in Niamey.

In an exclusive interview for The Washington Post, Niger's Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine revealed in May that ties with the US significantly deteriorated due to US officials' attempt to dictate Niger's foreign partnership choices, in addition to failing to provide adequate justification for the stationing of US forces in the country.

Niger has already overseen the withdrawal of troops from France, the former colonial power, and has turned to other partners, such as Russia, which has provided instructors and equipment.