The US Army has completed the withdrawal of all its soldiers from “Air Base 101” in Niamey, the capital of Niger, as ordered by the ruling military junta in Niger, according to US Air Force General Kenneth Eckman. Then the US Army will shift its focus to leaving a large drone base, During the coming weeks.
Following the political transformation that the country witnessed last April, the ruling military junta in Niger ordered the United States to withdraw its soldiers from the country, who number approximately 2,000 soldiers.
Niger’s military junta has given the United States until September 15 to withdraw its forces, which also means leaving a $100 million drone base near Agadez in northern Niger, known as “Air Base 201.”
Ekman suggested that the “withdrawal from Air Base 201” may be completed next month.
The Nigerian Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed Al-Amin Zein, had announced in a previous interview with the American newspaper “The Washington Post” that his country had decided to stop its military cooperation with the United States last March due to threats made by American officials.
On April 12, a number of Russian experts arrived in Niger to train local forces to combat terrorism.
The British newspaper “Financial Times” saw that the United States’ decision to withdraw its forces from Niger represents a new strategic victory for Russia.
Niger also witnessed the withdrawal of French forces at the request of the military junta, which constitutes a setback for the West and a loss of economic and military influence in the region.
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