United States announces withdrawal of all troops from Niger by Sept. 15
The announcement indicates a strategic loss for Washington and a victory for Moscow, which has been building closer ties to the military junta that governs the African country.
Manifestantes se reúnen mientras un hombre sostiene un cartel exigiendo que los soldados del ejército de los Estados Unidos abandonen Níger. (AFP)
The withdrawal of U.S. troops deployed in Niger will end "at the latest" on Sept. 15, according to a statement issued this Sunday by authorities from both countries. The withdrawal, they assured, is already underway.
Washington and Niamey began negotiating the move in April, at the request of the military junta that has governed Niger following the coup d'état in July of last year.
Since then, the new government has moved closer to Russia and away from the West, receiving Russian weapons and military training and cutting ties with countries like France, which withdrew all its troops last year at the request of the junta.
Despite this, the United States assured that it will continue to cooperate with the economic development of the African country, one of the poorest in the world.
The more than 600 American soldiers and the air base located in Nigerien territory are strategic assets both for the control of jihadist groups in the region and for American influence throughout the Sahel.
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