Johannesburg — After investing more than $1 billion in Niger over a decade, the U.S. military has agreed to withdraw its more than 1,000 forces of the West African nation over the coming months. It was not a move the United States expected to take, and officials told CBS News it will be a serious blow to U.S. counterterrorism efforts in a region known to pose a number of significant and growing threats.
Niger is a landlocked country surrounded by some unstable neighbors where local militias have joined forces with international terrorist organizations including Al Qaeda and ISIS.
A senior U.S. military officer who spent time in Niger told CBS News that the impending withdrawal was “a devastating blow, both to our regional counterterrorism efforts and to overall peace in the region going forward.”
“Our soldiers have worked for years developing capabilities and providing training to regional forces,” the official said. “This is a hard blow on all levels.”
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Following a military coup in July 2023Nigerien leaders made clear in several conversations with U.S. officials that they were not interested in U.S. efforts to help guide the country on the path to new democratic elections and were instead turning to Russia for services. of security and Iran in search of a possible agreement on Niger’s uranium reserves.
In March, the head of the US military’s Africa Command, General Michael Langley, warned members of the US Congress that “several countries are at the critical point of being captured by the Russian Federation.”
Just days before Langley testified on Capitol Hill, he traveled to Niger to meet with the country’s junta leaders. The meeting did not go as American officials had hoped, and shortly after Langley and his entourage departed, Niger’s military spokesman, Amadou Abdramane, announced on national television that the country’s joint military agreement with the United States had been “suspended with immediate effect”.
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U.S. military sources told CBS News that there was a diplomatic push to try to repair the frayed relationship, but that Nigerian officials had made clear that security cooperation was unsustainable.
Niger’s military government had already expelled French forces from the country after the last year’s blow and I started looking for new partners. U.S. officials said it was worrying that Nigerians expelled troops from France, the country’s former colonial power.
Months later, in January, Niger’s junta leaders agreed to enhance their military cooperation with Russia, and just last week a Russian transport plane arrived in the capital, Niamey, reportedly carrying 100 Russian military trainers and a new system. air defense.
The region around Niger has experienced six successful coups in the last three years alone. The ruling junta of Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso have issued statements of support for Niger’s new military leaders.
Burkina Faso and Mali were the first to turn to the Russian mercenary company formerly known as Wagner Group for military training and support.
Sources told CBS News that a handful of Nigerien coup leaders had previously received US military training during several exercises on the continent.
The United States is believed to have spent more than $1 billion building two drone bases and a new embassy in Niger over about a decade. The bases in Niger and the roughly 1,100 U.S. forces based there have been critical to U.S. operations in the volatile Sahel region, which stretches across North Africa.
Many Americans first learned of U.S. special forces operations in Niger in 2017, after four American soldiers died in an ambush by ISIS militants outside the town of Tongo Tongo.
Last week, a serving member of U.S. forces in Niger sent an email to House Speaker Mike Johnson detailing conditions for him and his colleagues in the African nation, saying that since the coup, they have been had said to “Sit and wait”, which prevented them from carrying out their mission.
In the letter, a copy of which was shared online by Rep. Matt GaetzThe soldier said that American troops in Niger were effectively being “hostages” in a country that had made it abundantly clear that they were no longer welcome.
At regular weekend protests in Niamey, Nigerians have demanded that American soldiers leave immediately, with one sign reading: “US Army, you leave, you disappear.”
Another US delegation is expected to visit Niger soon to discuss a timeline for the withdrawal, which will likely take place in the coming months.