The Russian presence on the bottom comes as tensions stay excessive between Washington and Moscow over the continued US assist for Ukraine’s navy.
Russia has moved some troops onto an airbase in Niger the place a small variety of US forces stay, however Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned he does not see it as a big subject. In response to a US official, most American troops beforehand stationed at that base in Niamey have departed.
The arrival of Russian trainers within the West African nation about three weeks in the past got here within the wake of Niger’s determination to order out all US troops. The order has impacted US navy operations within the Sahel, a big area south of the Sahara Desert the place teams linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group are energetic.
The Pentagon has mentioned the US troops will depart however has not supplied a timeline.
When Russian troops arrived final month, it was unclear the place they had been staying. The Niamey base, Austin mentioned late on Thursday, is positioned on the capital metropolis’s Diori Hamani Worldwide Airport, and “the Russians are in a separate compound and don’t have entry to US forces or entry to their tools”.
He mentioned the US will proceed to observe the state of affairs however he does not see it as a big drive safety subject.
A US official mentioned the Russian forces are on the opposite aspect of the Niamey facility, referred to as Airbase 101, and that different worldwide forces – such because the Germans and Italians – additionally reside. The official spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate troop actions.
It is unclear what number of US troops stay on the Niamey base.
The Russian presence on the bottom comes as tensions stay excessive between Washington and Moscow over the continued US assist for Ukraine’s navy.
About 1,000 US troops are nonetheless in Niger, however the bulk of them moved to what’s referred to as Airbase 201 close to Agadez, some 920 kilometres away from the capital, not lengthy after mutinous troopers ousted the nation’s democratically elected president final July.
A couple of months later, the junta requested French forces to go away and turned to the Russian mercenary group Wagner for safety help.
In October, Washington formally designated the navy takeover as a coup, which triggered US legal guidelines proscribing the navy assist and help that it might probably present to Niger. Since then, diplomatic efforts to revive ties with Niger have been unsuccessful.
Till just lately, Washington thought-about Niger a key companion and ally in a area swept by coups in recent times, investing hundreds of thousands of {dollars} within the Agadez base, which has been essential to US counterterrorism operations within the Sahel.
The US additionally has invested tons of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in coaching Niger’s navy because it started operations there in 2013.
The Pentagon additionally has mentioned the US will relocate many of the roughly 100 forces it has deployed in neighbouring Chad for now. Chad can be contemplating whether or not to proceed its safety settlement with the US.
