U.S. troops ordered out of Niger by the West African country's ruling junta will complete their withdrawal by mid-September, the Pentagon and Nigerien defense officials said Sunday.
The schedule was the product of four days of talks between the countries' defense officials in the capital city of Niamey, according to a joint statement.
Niger's decision to expel US forces dealt a blow to US military operations in the Sahel, a vast region south of the Sahara Desert where groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State operate.
The breakdown in military cooperation came after the overthrow last July of the country's democratically elected president by mutinous soldiers. A few months later, the ruling junta asked French forces to leave and turned to the Russian mercenary group Wagner for security help.
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Supporters of Niger's ruling junta gather for a protest called to fight for the country's freedom and reject foreign interference, in Niamey, Niger, on August 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)
In October, Washington officially called the military takeover a coup, triggering U.S. laws restricting the military support and aid it can provide to Niger.
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Nigeriens gather on a street to protest against the US military presence, in Niamey, Niger, on April 13, 2024. (REUTERS/Mahamadou Hamidou/File Photo)
About 1,000 U.S. troops are still in Niger, most at an air base near Agadez, about 920 kilometers (550 miles) from the capital.
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Until recently, Washington considered Niger a key partner and ally in a region hit by coups in recent years, investing millions of dollars in the Agadez base, which has been critical to US counterterrorism operations in the Sahel. The United States has also invested hundreds of millions of dollars in training Niger's military since it began operations there in 2013.
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The Pentagon has said the United States will relocate most of the roughly 100 forces it has deployed to neighboring Chad for now. But talks are expected to resume next month on revising an agreement that allows U.S. troops to be based in Chad.
