In March, Niger suspended its military cooperation with the US after military government leaders cut ties with France last year.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Niger’s capital to demand the departure of US troops, after the military government further changed its strategy, ending a military agreement with the US and welcoming Russian military instructors.
Marching arm in arm through the center of Niamey on Saturday, the crowd waved Niger flags in a demonstration that recalled the anti-French protests that spurred the withdrawal of French forces from Niger last year after the army seized power in a coup. state.
A handwritten sign in English read “US Rushes Out of Niger,” in a show of support for the military government and its decision in mid-March to revoke an agreement that allowed about 1,000 US troops to operate in its territory. territory. two bases.
“We are here to say no to the American base, we don’t want Americans on our territory,” protester Maria Saley told Reuters news agency on the sidelines of the march.
The crowd was also heard chanting “Down with American imperialism” and “The liberation of the people is on the march.”
Until the coup, Niger had remained a key security partner of France and the US, which used it as a base as part of international efforts to quell a decade-long rebellion in West Africa’s Sahel region.
In March, the country suspended its military agreement with the US. The U.S. military had about 650 troops working in Niger in December, according to a White House report to Congress. The US military operates a major air base in the Niger city of Agadez, about 920 km (572 miles) from Niamey, using it for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations.
A drone base known as Air Base 201 near Agadez was also built at a cost of more than $100 million. Since 2018, the base has been used to attack fighters from ISIL (ISIS) and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, in the Sahel region.
Ties with Russia
Meanwhile, France also agreed to withdraw its troops last September, following the July coup d’état that overthrew the democratically elected President, Mohamed Bazoum.
The new authorities in Niger have joined the military governments of neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso in ending military agreements with former Western allies, leaving the ECOWAS regional political and economic bloc and also promoting closer ties with Russia.
The arrival, on Wednesday, of Russian military instructors and equipment was further proof of the military government’s openness to closer cooperation with Moscow, which seeks to increase its influence in Africa.
Some Russian flags were visible at the protest, but some citizens told Reuters on Friday they did not want welcome Russian defense assistance to lead to a permanent presence in Niger.
“We should not subsequently see the implementation of Russian foreign military bases,” said Abdoulaye Seydou, coordinator of the M62 coalition of civil society groups that led anti-French protests last year.
His concerns were shared by student Souleymane Ousmane: “This is how the French, the Americans and all the other countries established themselves in Niger – through military cooperation, they ended up occupying large parts of our country,” he told Reuters.
It remains unclear, however, if or when U.S. troops will leave.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
