The United States African Command and the National Defense of the Republic of Niger have confirmed the completion of the withdrawal of the US troops ad assets from Niger.
The US troops were based in Air Base 201 in Adadez in Central Niger.
A Press Statement jointly issued in Niamey on August 5 by the US Department of Defense and the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Niger said the withdrawal started on May 19.
The withdrawal followed the mutual establishment of withdrawal conditions and coordination will continue between US and Nigerien armed forces over the coming weeks to ensure full withdrawal is complete as planned.
Nigerian Air Base 201 near Agadez in Central Niger was improved by the United States to support enhanced defense cooperation with the Nigerien armed forces and regional counterterrorism efforts.
Over the past decades, US troops have trained Niger’s forces and supported partner-led counterterrorism missions against Islamic state and al-Qaeda in the region, the statement said.
According to the statement, the effective cooperation and communication between the US and Nigerien armed forces ensured that the turnover was finished ahead of the schedule and without complications.
Both military institutions recognized the sacrifices made by nations’ armed forces.
The military junta in Niger had given the U.S. until Sept. 15 to remove almost 1,000 troops from Niger.
The concerns raised by the US over the Niger’s invitation of Russian troops to the country in mid-March led to the marching order on US.
France had similarly withdrawn its troops from Niger with the last French troops in Niger have withdrawn in December 2023, marking an end to more than a decade of French operations to fight armed groups in West Africa’s Sahel region.
France pulled out its roughly 1,500 soldiers and pilots from its former colony after Niger’s military government demanded they depart after a coup on July 26.
It was the third time in less than 18 months that French troops have been sent packing from a country in the Sahel. They were forced to leave fellow former colonies Mali last year and Burkina Faso earlier this year after recent military takeovers in those countries too.