US Hands Over the Last Military Base in Niger to the Ruling Junta

Dakar: US handed over its last military base in Niger — one of two crucial hubs for American counterterrorism operations in country — to local authorities, US Department of Defence and Niger's Ministry of Defence anunced in a joint statement on Monday.

handing over of Airbase 201 in city of Agez came after US troops withdrew earlier this month from Airbase 101, a small drone base in Niger's capital of Niamey.

US troops have until September 15 to leave Sahel country following an agreement with Nigerien authorities.

re are about two dozen American soldiers who remain in Niger, largely for ministrative duties related to withdrawal, according to Sabrina Singh, Pentagon spokeswoman. y are located at US embassy.

In March, Niger's ruling junta ended an agreement that allowed US troops to operate in West African country. A few months later, officials of two countries anunced in a joint statement that US troops would complete ir withdrawal by middle of September.

Niger h been seen as one of last nations in restive region that Western nations could partner with to beat back growing jihi insurgencies. US and France h more than 2,500 military personnel in region until recently, and toger with or European countries h invested hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance and training.

In recent months Niger has pulled away from its Western partners, turning inste to Russia for security. In April, Russian military trainers arrived in Niger to reinforce country's air defenses.

Niger's ouster of American troops following a coup last year has bro ramifications for US because it is forcing troops to abandon critical base that was used for counterterrorism missions in Sahel, a vast region south of Sahara desert where groups linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State group operate One of those groups, Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, kwn as JNIM, is active in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and is looking to expand into Benin and Togo.