US consents to removing its soldiers from Niger

American soldiers will no longer be present in Niger and will cease their assistance in fighting against Islamist rebels.

On Friday, the US said it will close its drone base near Agadez in the Sahara desert.

Niger is located in Africa’s Sahel region, which is seen as the new main area for the Islamic State group. The US uses Niger as its main place to watch for terrorists in the area.

A group of Americans is going to Niger’s capital, Niamey, in a few days to plan how to bring back over 1,000 soldiers in an organized way.

On Friday, it was announced that the US deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, had talks with Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine in Washington.

It is considered a setback for President Biden’s administration, which didn’t want the change to happen.

The US and France built a military base in West Africa six years ago for $100 million. It is important for their plan to fight against jihadists in the region.

But Niger had some problems with Western countries after the coup last year. The military leaders want to become closer with Russia for security reasons.

Many Russian military trainers have come to Niger in the last few weeks. They also brought a very good air defence system with them, as reported by state media.

Niger has moved away from local governments and instead made closer ties with other countries in the region that are also led by military groups, like Burkina Faso and Mali.

The three people have left Ecowas, a group in West Africa that didn’t agree with their military takeovers.

They have stopped being part of the G5 Sahel force, which is supported by France, because they think it doesn’t work well and takes away African control. Instead, they have made their own defence pact called the Alliance of Sahel States.