US military withdrawing from Niger

The process of withdrawing US troops serving in Niger and transporting their equipment has officially begun.

According to information obtained from local sources, US troops are withdrawing from the country following the termination of a military agreement that allowed military and civilian personnel affiliated with the US Department of Defense to operate in Niger.

It was learned that 269 soldiers and tons of equipment were sent to the US in the first phase.

It had been announced that the US, which has approximately 1,000 troops in Niger and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) base in the city of Agadez, would completely leave the country by mid-September.

On March 17, Niger announced that it had terminated the military cooperation agreement signed with the US 12 years ago and demanded that US soldiers leave the country as soon as possible.

THE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR UAV BASE THE US WILL CLOSE

There are approximately 1,000 US troops in Niger. A UAV base named "Niger Air Base 201" is located near the city of Agadez, at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert.

Niger 201 is the second-largest base in Africa where the US conducts UAV operations, following its permanent base in Djibouti.

The base, which was built and financed by the US but is owned by the Nigerien military, has been in service since 2019 with high-tech satellite communication systems.

Leased from the state of Niger for 10 years, Niger 201 is considered the largest and most expensive US UAV base.

The US, which spent 110 million dollars on its construction and 30 million dollars annually for its maintenance, uses the base in question as its main intelligence and surveillance center in the Sahel. 

News Source: 12punto