Niger breaks the military cooperation agreement with the USA and moves closer to Russia
Niger's government announced on Saturday that it would terminate its military cooperation agreement with the United States "with immediate effect" . The statement came just a day after a US government delegation left Niger following a three-day visit to renew contacts with the military junta that ousted the president and moved closer to Russia.
Evidently the Noon visit was a great success, because his departure was followed by the official statement which stated that the government has decided to "denounce with immediate effect" the agreement relating to military and civilian employees of the United States Department of Defense in Niger.
The statement was read on national television Saturday evening and puts an end to the legal presence of any member of the US military on Niger soil.
The United States still stations about 1,000 troops in Niger, at a desert drone base built at a cost of $100 million. Movement has been restricted since the July 2023 coup, and Washington has reduced aid to the government. Now they will have to pack their bags.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a rare visit to Niger a year ago, hoping to support President Mohamed Bazoum, a strong ally in Western security efforts against jihadists. Just four months later, the military deposed Bazoum and placed him under house arrest.
Let us remember that France has also been evicted and will soon end its military presence, following the hard line of the new government towards the former colonial country which boasted its military presence for a decade, always for the fight against the jihadists.
In the past, the Niger army had worked closely with the United States and Western countries, but the fight against Islamic extremist groups or insurgents has not been very successful, so cooperation with Moscow has now increased. Not a dry and decisive training but a greater closeness which also affects the neighbors Malie Burkina Faso. However, the three countries governed by military junta are counting, above all, on mutual collaboration .
Thanks to our Telegram channel you can stay updated on the publication of new Economic Scenarios articles.
The article Niger breaks the military cooperation agreement with the USA and moves closer to Russia comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/il-niger-rompe-laccordo-di-cooperazione-militare-con-gli-usa-e-si-avvicina-alla-russia/ on Sun, 17 Mar 2024 15:09:55 +0000.