The U.S. will have fully cleared out of one air base in Niger as it continues to move personnel and equipment from the African country ahead of a September deadline to complete its withdrawal. Niger and the U.S. announced their decision in a joint statement last month and set a deadline of Sept. 15 for the U.S. to move its forces out of the West African country. By March, a spokesman for the council said U.S. forces would no longer operate in the country. America has relied on Niger as a counterterrorism hub for more than a decade, with most concentrated on an air base located in the center of the country.
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley stated the process is on pace and on plan, moving heavy equipment out of Air Base 101, and then will conclude with Air Base 201. The plan for relocating equipment is not yet finalized, but Langley said he has made tours across coastal West Africa and the rest of the region to best understand what those countries need for addressing the counterterrorism fight they face. Russian military presence exists as far north as Libya and as far south as the Central African Republic, according to Langley.
Langley mentioned that African Chiefs of Defense Conference would kick off for the first time on the African continent in Botswana on June 25. The Russian military in Africa is attempting, through active disinformation campaigns, to drive a wedge between the West and its African partners. Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News.
