The United States agreed on Friday to withdraw its forces, comprising over a thousand soldiers, from Niger where they have been involved in combating extremists, according to several American officials who requested anonymity.
Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell approved the request for troop withdrawal during a meeting in Washington with Prime Minister Ali Amin Zain, who assumed power after the coup last July, U.S. officials told Agence France-Presse.
The agreement stipulates that an American delegation will be sent to Niger in the coming days to finalize the withdrawal details.
Following the coup that ousted elected President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, the United States suspended most of its cooperation, including military collaboration, with Niger.
In March, Niger withdrew from a military cooperation agreement signed in 2012 with the United States, criticizing Washington for imposing it unilaterally.
One thousand American soldiers have been participating in the fight against jihadists in the Sahel region and have a large drone base in Agadez (north). Thousands protested in Niamey on Saturday, demanding their immediate departure.
The military government in Niger, which emerged from the coup, agreed in January to bolster defense cooperation with Russia after expelling French forces that were in the country as part of efforts to combat extremists in the African Sahel region.
The recent coup in Niger, led by the Presidential Guard and its commander General Abdourahamane Tchiani, ousted President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, 2023. This marked Niger’s sixth successful coup since independence in 1960, reflecting a broader regional trend in West Africa of military takeovers.
Before the coup, Niger was considered a relative beacon of stability in the Sahel region and had experienced its first peaceful democratic transition of power in 2021 with Bazoum’s election. However, rising living costs and perceived government incompetence, alongside concerns over security and Bazoum’s relationship with the head of the Presidential Guard, were cited as triggers for the coup.
The U.S. response to the coup included suspending most military cooperation with Niger, reflecting a broader Western stance of rejecting the junta and pressing for the restoration of democratic governance. This response has heightened anti-Western sentiments in Niger, mirroring patterns seen in other recent coups in the region like those in Mali and Burkina Faso.
