ABIDJAN, May 16, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A US delegation is 
discussing the withdrawal of its troops from military-led 
Niger as Washington prepares to abandon its strategic 
position in the Sahel where Russia and Iran are gaining 
ground.

The demand for US troops to exit comes after French troops 
were also forced to withdraw last year by Niger's new ruling 
generals following a July coup.

Niger announced in March it was ending a military 
cooperation agreement with Washington, claiming the 
presence of US soldiers was now "illegal".

The country has been a key base for counter-terrorism 
operations in West Africa, with a major US drone base near 
the northern city of Agadez that cost a reported $100 million 
to build.

- Strategic position -
Since 2019, the US military has used drones and aircraft to 
carry out surveillance missions from the air base on Agadez's 
outskirts.

The missions span a vast region where armed groups, 
particularly jihadists, operate. Drug, human and arms 
trafficking is also common.

US military service Reaper drones have been flying as far as 
the borders of neighbouring Libya, Chad, Nigeria and Mali 
which have limited aerial surveillance capabilities.
- Russian and Iranian advance -

Niger demanded the US troop pull-out after Washington 
expressed concern about "potential Nigerien relations with 
Russia and Iran".

The coup and subsequent breakaway from Western countries 
in favour of Russia followed similar moves in neighbouring 
Burkina Faso and Mali.

But Niger's position as the world's seventh-largest uranium 
producer plays an important role in the shifting relations.
Iran has significantly increased its stock of enriched uranium 
in recent months, while strengthening ties with Niger, 
according to the International Atomic Energy Agency 
(IAEA).

Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine told the 
Washington Post in an interview published this month that a 
US official threatened Niamey with sanctions if it signed an 
agreement to sell the uranium it produces to Iran.
Zeine said that "absolutely nothing" had been signed with 
Iran on uranium.

- Limited US forces -
US soldiers deployed in Niger were estimated to number 650 
by the end of 2023, as well as hundreds of contractors.
Some troops are stationed at an air base in the capital Niamey 
with other foreign troops, as well as in the US Agadez base.
The United States repositioned some of its troops from 
Niamey to Agadez in what it said was a precautionary move 
after the coup.

- Anti-jihadist fight -
US special forces had been working alongside the Nigerien 
army to fight jihadist groups before the coup, when 
Washington suspended all military cooperation.

In October 2017, four American soldiers and five Nigerien 
soldiers were killed in an ambush by the Islamic State group 
in the village of Tongo Tongo near the Malian border.
US drones were also supporting the Nigerian army against 
Boko Haram and rival Islamic State West Africa Province 
(ISWAP) jihadists in the southeast close to Nigeria. 
In September, US intelligence, surveillance and 
reconnaissance operations resumed solely to protect 
American forces, according to the Department of Defense. 
- Equipment and training -
The United States has supplied military equipment to Niger 
since 1962 after the former French colony gained 
independence. 
Deliveries increased as part of the fight against jihadists, 
ranging from armed vehicles, surveillance and military 
transport aircraft to communications and transmission 
centres.

Niger's army has also had access to a US security assistance 
programme, which provides funding for the education and 
training of foreign military personnel, since 1980.
- Unpopular military presence -
Nigerien public opinion has long been hostile to the presence 
of foreign forces.
In 2022, around two-thirds of Nigeriens disagreed with 
government use of foreign military forces to secure the 
country, according to an Afrobarometer survey. 
In terms of security, "the Agadez region finds no use for the 
presence of the Americans", civil society leader Amodi 
Arrandishou told AFP. 
"The Americans stayed on our soil, doing nothing while the 
terrorists killed people and burned towns," said Prime 
Minister Zeine, who has led negotiations with the United 
States.