Niamey, Mar 18: In a blow to the US security presence in Niger, the latter has suspended its military agreement with the former “with immediate effect”, Al Jazeera reported quoting the Niger’s ruling military spokesman, Colonel Amadou Abdramane.The agreement that allowed US military personnel and civilian defence staff to operate from Niger lost its existence a week after senior US officials, led by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee and US Africa Command head General Michael Langley, visited the West African country earlier this week to discuss democratic transition.
The pact played a central role in the US military’s operations in Africa’s Sahel region and is home to a major airbase. Speaking on local television, Abdramane said the US delegation did not follow diplomatic protocol, and that Niger was not informed about the composition of the delegation, the date of its arrival or the agenda, Al Jazeera reported. “Niger regrets the intention of the American delegation to deny the sovereign Nigerien people the right to choose their partners and types of partnerships capable of truly helping them fight against terrorism,” Abdramane said.
The US military had some 650 personnel working in Niger in December, according to a White House report to Congress. The US military operates a major airbase in the Niger city of Agadez, some 920km (572 miles) from the capital of Niamey, using it for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations. According to the Al Jazeera report, a drone base known as Air Base 201 near Agadez was built at a cost of more than USD 100 million. Since 2018 the base has been used to target ISIL (ISIS) fighters and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, in the Sahel region.