US official says Russian and US troops don’t mingle at Airbase 101 as Moscow’s forces have deployed to a separate hanger.
Russian navy personnel have entered an airbase in Niger that’s internet hosting US troops, a senior US defence official informed the Reuters information company, following a call by Niger’s navy rulers to expel US forces from the nation.
The navy officers presently ruling Niger informed Washington in March to withdraw the almost 1,000 US navy personnel stationed of their nation.
Previous to a navy coup in July final yr, Niger had been a key accomplice within the US’s struggle in opposition to the ISIL (ISIS) group and al-Qaeda associates within the Sahel area of Africa, which is presently experiencing a surge in lethal violence.
A senior US defence official, talking on situation of anonymity, mentioned Russian troops weren’t mingling with US forces on the airbase as they had been utilizing a separate plane hanger on the website referred to as Airbase 101, positioned 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 each international locations are more and more tense amid Washington’s help for Ukraine following the Russian invasion of its neighbour.
The transfer by Russia additionally raises questions concerning the destiny of US navy installations in Niger following the completion of the US withdrawal.
“[The situation] is just not nice however, within the short-term, manageable,” the US official informed Reuters.
The Nigerien and Russian embassies in Washington didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark, Reuters studies.
The US and its allies have been pressured to maneuver troops out of numerous African international locations following coups that delivered to energy navy leaders desperate to distance themselves from Western governments.
Along with the approaching departure from Niger, US forces have additionally left Chad in latest days, whereas the French navy has been kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso. On the similar time, Russia is in search of to strengthen relations with African nations, pitching Moscow as a pleasant nation with no colonial baggage within the continent.
Mali, for instance, has in recent times grow to be certainly one of Russia’s closest African allies, with the Wagner Group mercenary power deploying there to struggle insurgent teams.
The US official mentioned Nigerien authorities had informed 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 the coup final yr, the US navy moved a few 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 $100m. Since 2018, it has been used to focus on ISIL and al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, referred to as JNIM, with armed drones.
Niger’s name for the elimination of US troops got here after a gathering in Niamey in mid-March, when senior US officers raised considerations together with the anticipated arrival of Russian forces and studies of Iran in search of uncooked supplies within the nation, together with uranium.
Whereas the US message to Nigerien officers was not an ultimatum, the official mentioned, it was made clear that US forces couldn’t be on a base with Russian forces.
“They didn’t take that nicely,” the official mentioned.
A two-star US normal has been despatched to Niger to attempt to organize knowledgeable and accountable withdrawal.
Whereas no choices have been taken on the way forward for US troops in Niger, the official mentioned the plan was for them to return to US Africa Command’s residence bases, positioned in Germany.
