The U.S. Department of Defense announced that the US Army has handed over control of its military base in Niger to the local armed forces, in a move that ends its military presence that lasted for years in the country under the pretext of “fighting terrorism.”
Air Base “201”, located in Agadez in central Niger, which cost $110 million to build with funding from the Pentagon, served as an operations center for US drones.
According to a report published by the “New York Times”, the last group of 1,000 US soldiers left the air base in Agadez on board a U.S. Air Force cargo plane.
This withdrawal came after Washington agreed to withdraw them by September 15, and the newspaper indicated that a small number of soldiers will remain at the U.S. embassy for a short period to complete some administrative details.
The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that the withdrawal process began on May 19, and that coordination between US forces and Nigerien forces will continue to ensure a complete and orderly withdrawal.
It is worth noting that the United States had previously withdrawn about 400 soldiers from a base in the capital, Niamey, followed by the withdrawal of 600 soldiers from the Agadez base.
The Biden administration announced last May that it had begun “discussions for an orderly and responsible withdrawal” from the country, after the Nigerian military junta canceled the military cooperation agreement with the United States, in effect since 2012.
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