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

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

The handing over of Airbase 201 in the city of Agadez came after the 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 the Sahel country following an agreement with Nigerien authorities.

There are about two dozen American soldiers who remain in Niger, largely for administrative duties related to the withdrawal, according to Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon spokeswoman. They are located at the US embassy.

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

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

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

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