Carly Petesch/AP
U.S. and Nigerian flags at Niger Air Base 201 in Agadez, April 16, 2018.
CNN
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The United States has reached an agreement with Niger to withdraw its troops from the African country by September 15, according to the Pentagon and Niger’s Ministry of Defense.
Under the newly agreed deadline, the United States has four months to withdraw its fewer than 1,000 troops and equipment, including MQ-9 Reaper drones and other assets, remaining in the country. .
But despite the looming deadline, U.S. officials see potential in the relationship with Niger. “They want to maintain a relationship with us,” a senior defense official said, “and that relationship is certainly informed by where we are with them.”
Niger’s military government announced in March that it had ended an agreement with the United States that allowed military and civilian employees of the Pentagon to operate in the country.
A U.S. delegation met last week with Niger’s ruling military government to try to reach an agreement that would allow for a safe withdrawal of U.S. troops and permission for military flights. The flight permit had become a stalemate in delicate negotiations needed to withdraw U.S. troops. U.S. soldiers have previously departed from Niger on commercial flights, as recently as last week, U.S. officials said. The remaining forces on the ground are tasked with removing U.S. military personnel and equipment still in Niger.
For more than a decade, the Department of Defense has worked with the Nigerian military to focus on counterterrorism efforts in West Africa. The U.S. previously operated two bases in Agadez and Niamey, where the Pentagon could conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions with drones. Currently, U.S. forces are confined to a base in the capital, Niamey, and Russian forces have already begun operations.
“Niger has been the bastion of our country’s counterterrorism efforts for more than a decade,” the defense official said, adding that discussions were ongoing regarding future cooperation.
But what that arrangement will look like is an open question, especially since the U.S. has already begun withdrawing some of the 1,100 military personnel currently active in the country. Defense officials painted an optimistic picture of potential future relations with Niger, given the junta’s demand that the United States withdraw its troops from the country.
The Nigerian military “does not consider this to be the end of the relationship,” a senior military official said. Senior defense and military officials briefed reporters Sunday afternoon after a series of talks between U.S. and Nigerian officials about the withdrawal.
The U.S. delegation was led by Chris Meyer, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict. The Nigerian delegation was led by Major Niger. Mamane Sani Kiao, Chief of Staff of the Nigerian Army.
“Both delegations affirmed protection and security guarantees for U.S. forces during the withdrawal. The delegations also confirmed steps to facilitate the entry and exit of U.S. military personnel, including overflight and landing clearance for military aircraft. established,” the joint statement said.
The United States is still assessing what military equipment will remain in Niger. “Obviously sensitive equipment, lethal equipment, dangerous equipment, this kind of stuff will be removed,” the defense official said.
Much of what the U.S. expects to leave behind is not “very portable,” but housing equipment and other types of life support equipment, the official said.
Russian troops are operating from the same bases where U.S. troops are withdrawing, but U.S. officials said they believed it was unlikely that any U.S. equipment would end up in Russian hands.
“In our conversations, we got a strong sense that they were not going to share what equipment was left with any other party here or in the future,” the defense official said. “At least for the time being.”
In a joint statement, the United States and Niger said they would continue to cooperate in areas of “shared interest.”
“The United States and Niger are committed to continuing diplomatic dialogue to define the future of our bilateral relationship,” the statement said.
This story has been updated with additional information.
