Hommam Al Nassim 
Niger has forced the United States to end its military cooperation and begin withdrawing troops from the country, raising questions about new shifts in international relations in Northwest Africa.
The move comes a few days after Niger received its first batch of Russian military equipment, as part of expanding security cooperation with Moscow, coinciding with news of Niger’s intention to supply Iran with uranium.
Demonstrations began to erupt in the streets of the capital, Niamey, where demonstrators demanded the departure of US forces stationed in the north of the country, after Niger’s ruling military council announced the suspension of the military cooperation agreement with the United States, which has been in force since 2012.
In response to the pressure, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder confirmed that the United States had begun talks with Niger to discuss the withdrawal of its troops from the country, and that it would send a delegation to outline the details of that withdrawal.
“The US Ambassador to Niger, Kathleen Fitzgebour, and Major General Kim Ekman, representative of the U.S. Forces Africa Command, will meet on April 25 with representatives of the authorities in Niamey to begin discussing the orderly and responsible withdrawal of U.S. forces from Niger,” the State Department said in a statement.
With the United States having a large drone base near Agadez in Niger costing $100 million to build, this potential withdrawal signals major changes in security and political affairs in the region.
Since the military council came to power on July 26, 2023, the council, led by General Abderrahmane Tiani, has prioritized the issue of reviewing military cooperation agreements with several countries, as it ended his country’s cooperation with France and the last French soldiers left Niger at the end of last December.
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