The United States military has withdrawn from Niger’s Air Base 101 yesterday. The air base is closer to the nation’s capital Niamey. The American military will also exit from the desert city of Agadez and vacate a major drone base in the next few weeks. Niger’s ruling junta in April ordered the U.S. to withdraw its nearly 1,000 military personnel from the country following a coup last year in the West African nation.
“Thanks to effective cooperation and communication between the Nigerian and American armed forces, this operation was completed ahead of schedule and without any complications,” Niger’s defence ministry and the U.S. Department of Defense said in a joint statement.
The focus will next shift to withdrawal from the $100 million drone base near Agadez in central Niger, which had provided crucial intelligence about jihadist-linked groups, U.S. Air Force Major General Kenneth Ekman said on Friday. The pullout from that base, known as Air Base 201, will likely take place in August, he said. Niger’s ruling junta has given the U.S. until Sept. 15 to remove troops from its territory.
In April, Russia sent military trainers to Niger. Niger and its military-led neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso signed a confederation treaty on Saturday, signalling an ever-closer alignment between the countries in the insurgency-torn central Sahel. They have torn up defence agreements with U.S., European and United Nations forces.
France and Russia are currently going head-to- head in Northwest Africa. In April this year, France was forced to remove three diplomats from Burkino Faso, a former colony of the Western European nation.
Putin had stated earlier this year that France is critical of the Kremlin due to its diplomatic losses in Africa. Russia has been using its proxies such as the Wagner Group and now its new avatar ‘Africa Corps’ to undermine the west. Russians have made strong inroads in many Françafrique nations such as Central African Republic, Mali, Mozambique and Madagascar. Many believe that France is providing Ukraine with Mirage-2000 jets in an attempt to get back at Russia.
Although Russia won’t target Western nations or NATO members directly. As a direct attack would trigger Article 5 or the collective defence clause of the alliance’s charter. This would result in a direct military conflict between Russia and NATO. Russia could theoretically provide weapons to Iranian proxies such as the ones in Yemen. The Houthi forces actively fire missiles at western ships, both merchant and warships alike. Both Iran and Russia are heavily sanctioned and will not have too much to lose. The global trade mechanics on the other hand could take a big hit if such an event were to take place.
(With inputs from Reuters)
