Russian troops staying at base housing US forces in Niger

Russian military officers have been staying at an air base in Niger that even hosts U. S. soldiers and tools, a U. S. national confirmed to The Hill Thursday.

Following a military coup there last year, roughly 1, 000 American service members are expected to leave Niger. The military junta that now governs Niger’s government has demanded that American forces leave and turn to Russia for weapons and security.

According to the official, the Russian troops have been stationed at Airbase 101, next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, for” for a couple of weeks.”

” We have been monitoring the situation”, they said, adding that the Russian forces do not have access to U. S. service members, spaces, or equipment, and that they are using a separate hangar at Airbase 101, which is owned by the Nigeriens.

They also made note of the fact that shortly after the coup, the United States had moved most of its forces from Airbase 101 to Airbase 201 in Agadez. The number of American soldiers who are still stationed at 101 and the amount of equipment that is still present were not disclosed.

Russia’s military presence at 101 places Russian and American troops in close proximity at a time of intense hostility between the two nations over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Reuters first reported&nbsp, on the presence of Russian troops at the base.

After the military junta revoked a military cooperation agreement with the United States in March, Washington last month announced that American forces would withdraw from Niger. In the wake of that agreement, U.S. troops gained a significant foothold to fight extremist organizations in the area, including Boko Haram and others.

As the United States military attempts to halt militant groups across the Sahel, a volatile region in northern Africa that includes Senegal and Mauritania in the west to Sudan and Eritrea on the Red Sea, a forced withdrawal from Niger is a major setback for the country. &nbsp,

About 100 U. S. troops have also left Chad in recent days, according to Reuters.

Niger has forged a relationship with Russia, including its private military company Wagner Group, by following Mali and Burkinabe as its neighbors have done. The organization has ties to Moscow and has a history of utilizing African countries ‘ resources. &nbsp,

A delegation last week was sent to Niger to arrange an orderly withdrawal and included U. S. Ambassador to Niger Kathleen FitzGibbon and Maj. Gen. Kenneth Ekman, the director of strategy, engagement and programs at U. S. Africa Command.