A U.S. official says Russian and U.S. troops don’t combine at Airbase 101 as a result of Moscow’s forces have been deployed in a separate hangar.
Russian navy personnel have entered an air base in Niger that hosts US troops, a senior US protection official instructed Reuters, following a call by Niger’s navy rulers to expel US forces from the nation.
Army officers who at the moment rule Niger instructed Washington in March to withdraw the almost 1,000 US navy personnel stationed of their nation.
Earlier than the navy coup in July final 12 months, Niger was a key associate within the US struggle in opposition to the ISIL (ISIS) group and al-Qaeda’s offshoot within the Sahel area of Africa, which is at the moment experiencing a rise in lethal violence.
A senior US protection official, talking on situation of anonymity, mentioned Russian troops don’t combine with US forces on the air base as a result of they use a separate hangar at a website often called Airbase 101, which is subsequent to Diori Hamani Worldwide Airport in Niger’s capital. Niamey.
Nevertheless, Russia’s deployment of navy personnel to the bottom places US and Moscow forces in shut proximity at a time when relations between the 2 nations have turn out to be more and more strained over Washington’s help for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.
Russia’s transfer additionally raises questions in regards to the destiny of US navy installations in Niger as soon as the US withdrawal is full.
“(The scenario) isn’t nice, however manageable within the quick time period,” a US official instructed Reuters.
The Nigerian and Russian embassies in Washington didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark, Reuters stories.
The US and its allies have been compelled to maneuver troops from plenty of African nations after coups that dropped at energy navy leaders desperate to distance themselves from Western governments.
Along with the upcoming withdrawal from Niger, US forces have additionally left Chad in current days, whereas the French navy has been kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso. On the similar time, Russia is attempting to strengthen relations with African nations, positioning Moscow as a pleasant nation with out colonial baggage on the continent.
Mali, for instance, has turn out to be one among Russia’s closest African allies lately, the place the mercenary group Wagner Group has been deployed to struggle in opposition to insurgent teams.
A US official mentioned Nigerian authorities had instructed US President Joe Biden’s administration that about 60 Russian navy personnel can be in Niger, however the official couldn’t confirm that was the precise quantity now within the nation.
After final 12 months’s coup, the US navy moved a part of its forces in Niger from Airbase 101 to Airbase 201 within the metropolis of Agadez. It was not instantly clear what US navy tools remained at Airbase 101.
Washington constructed Airbase 201 in central Niger at a price of greater than $100 million. As of 2018, it has been used to focus on ISIL and al-Qaeda affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, often called JNIM, utilizing armed drones.
Niger’s name for the removing of US troops got here after a gathering in Niamey in mid-March the place senior US officers raised considerations, together with the anticipated arrival of Russian forces and stories of Iran prospecting within the nation for uncooked supplies, together with uranium.
Whereas the U.S. message to Nigerian officers was not an ultimatum, the official mentioned, it was clear that U.S. forces couldn’t be based mostly with Russian forces.
“They did not take it that nicely,” the official mentioned.
A two-star US common was despatched to Niger to attempt to organize knowledgeable and accountable withdrawal.
Whereas no choices have been made on the way forward for US troops in Niger, the official mentioned the plan is to return to US Africa Command’s residence bases in Germany.