US to pull out troops from key drone base in Niger amid Russia’s growing footprint in Sahel

The United States has agreed to withdraw its about 1,000 troops from Niger, where it built and operated a major drone base in the desert city of Agadez, in a move that effectively marks a new regional gain for Russia.
Washington has accepted the call to pull out its troops from Nigeria and is committed to begin the planning of an “orderly and responsible” withdrawal of its troops from the West African country, according to reports released after a meeting between US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Nigerian Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine on Friday (19 April). The two sides reportedly agreed that a US delegation would head within days to the capital Niamey to arrange an orderly withdrawal of US soldiers, upending its posture in the West African region where Nigeria was home to a major base for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations. Built in Agadez at the cost of $100m, the Air Base 201 was used to combat armed groups that pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) in the Sahel region.
Niger was long a linchpin in the US and French strategy to combat jihadists in West Africa. But only four months after the visit to Niger of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who sought to bolster democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum, a stalwart Western ally, the latter was sacked in a military coup in July 2023. While the junta quickly kicked out troops from former colonial power France, it initially sounded an openness to maintaining its longtime defense relationship with the US. But with Joe Biden’s administration insisting on the return of civilian rule and Bazoum’s release, Niger announced in March that it had suspended a military agreement with the US. This comes as Niger and also other Sahel countries, Mali and Burkina Faso, have now turned to Russia for military support.