US forces will complete a withdrawal from Air Base 101 in Niger on Sunday, but several hundred other troops will remain at a second air base in the country through September, a US defense official told Sputnik on Friday.
However, the official noted that the majority of some 500 US troops currently in Niger are stationed at Air Base 201 near the Nigerien city of Agadez. Those troops will remain in the country through September.
"They will also close down 201 as well, but the priority was 101 in Niamey first, followed by 201. AB 201 withdrawal will be complete no later than September 15," the official said.
On June 8, the United States and Niger announced the beginning of the withdrawal of American troops from the African country. An agreement on the withdrawal was reached in mid-May.
In March, Niger terminated a military agreement with the United States, according to which an American UAV base had been established in the north of the African country. A Nigerien military spokesperson said the country's transitional government, which took power in a coup in July 2023, made such a decision because the agreement was imposed on the country and did not meet the interests of its people.
At the end of 2023, there were about 1,100 US military personnel in Niger, most of them stationed at an air force base near Agadez.
Interestingly, in mid-June, Honorary Consul of Russia in the African Republic Addo Iro told Russian media that his country is ready to host a full-fledged Russian military base on the territory of the country to help reduce the number of terrorist attacks in the nation.