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The US confirmed that Russian security forces have been deployed to the same airbase as American troops in the Nigerien capital, Niamey. It remains unclear when they were deployed to Airbase 101, which is next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey. It is also unclear how many troops are on the ground.
Airbase 101 is a Nigerien Air Force base that is co-located with an international airport in the capital city. The Russians are in a separate compound and don’t have access to US forces or access to US equipment, stated the US Secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told that Russia was developing ties with various African countries in all areas, including in the military.
After the coup, the US military moved some of its forces in Niger from Airbase 101 to Airbase 201 in the city of Agadez. It is not clear what US military equipment remains at Airbase 101. This development is the latest fallout of a coup last year that deposed the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. Niger’s junta has since embarked on a reconfiguration of its partnerships with Western allies. Troops from the US and France, which have a strained relationship with many countries in the region have been asked to leave their bases.
Russia is continuing to make inroads into parts of the continent, reawakening Cold War-era relations in recent years and in some cases presenting – regime stabilisation -packages to African leaders. The main face of Moscow’s presence has been the Wagner mercenary group.
The presence of Russian and US troops in the same Nigerien base is evidence that the region is now a live geopolitical faultline, with a pro-western coastal West Africa and a Russophile Sahel. With the fraying of democracy and stressed economies within the region, countries will fall in and out of both blocs with a frequency that will keep Washington and Moscow busy for years to come.
Read Also:
https://trendsnafrica.com/demonstrations-continue-in-niger-against-the-us-to-withdraw-troops/
https://trendsnafrica.com/backroom-diplomacy-of-the-us-with-niger-to-keep-troops/
The United States built Airbase 201 in central Niger at a cost of more than USD 100 million. Since 2018 it has been used to target Islamic State and al Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) fighters with armed drones.
